Growing Up Is Mad
by SoulEaterSushiBomb
Summary: A partner to "Love Itself Is Mad". This takes place after that story, so this won't sense if you haven't read that one first..."You'll never be a good enough meister. It's all over for you."..."It can't be over...I tried so hard."
1. Triplet Trouble

"Freya, come on, you gotta buck up! If you keep putting yourself down, you'll never be able to wield James properly." Naomi said with her eyes closed and eyebrows fixed in irritation.

"We know it's hard for you but please understand. As your friend I want what's best for you. We know you can pass any test with flying colors but…" Mariko trailed off.

The more blunt, Naomi spoke up.

"But you suck in the field." Naomi finished.

Freya's eyes watered.

"I'm not like you Naomi! I'm not confident and it's not like me to be outgoing all the time! Why do you say things so harshly? We're supposed to be friends!" Freya shouted sadly with tears flowing down her cheeks.

"Duh! I'm this damn honest BECAUSE we are friends!" the black haired girl shouted.

Freya looked at her friends shyly.

"Naomi…maybe you are being too…" Mariko started but was cut off.

"What's going on?" James shouted. "Huh? Freya!" the scythe weapon shouted. "What the heck are you two doing? Are you being mean to her? Freya, I'm here now." James said pulling her close.

"James, we were just trying to help her." Mariko said glancing up at him apologetically.

"Some kinda help this is! She's crying! I don't care if you are her friends; get lost until you feel like being nice to her!" James said leading Freya away.

Mariko stood with her hands at her chest and Naomi with her arms crossed.

"Damn. I get yelled at for trying to do something good." Naomi said.

"Don't get into a mood Naomi…you know how Freya is…" Mariko said; Naomi sighed.

"I know, but I just can't stop myself sometimes. I just want her to be stronger so she can face the kids who pick on her. I love her and I worry that I won't always be there to kick the asses of those bullies for her." Naomi said looking up at the ceiling.

"Heeeeeey ladies!" Caden and Zeke called as they wrapped their arms around their meisters.

"Caden, you're so silly all the time." Mariko laughed.

"What the hell? Get off you big DUMBASS!" Naomi shouted, giving Zeke an uppercut.

"So what's going on? You two look way bummed." Caden said curiously.

"Wanna go draw some penises on the blackboards? That always cheers me up." Zeke asked with a smirk. Naomi instantly punched him. "Ok…I guess not."

"No thanks Ezekiel. Anyway, we were trying to give your sister a pep talk but I guess it got more out of hand and she got upset." Mariko explained.

"Ah geez, that girl…just can't grow up." Caden said.

"Yeah, she's never had confidence and so she clings to other people." Zeke said crossing his arms.

"But she has friends like me and Mariko!" Naomi objected.

"Yeah but still…" Caden started.

"she needs more than that." Zeke finished.

With James and Freya:

"J-James…where are you taking me? Why do I have to wear a blindfold? It's kind of…scary." Fray said nervously.

"Hey, relax. I would never hurt you Freya! Do ya know why?" James said guiding her forward by holding her shoulders.

"Wh-why?" Freya asked.

"Because you're my princess!" he answered laughing.

Freya's cheeks glowed a soft strawberry color and a tiny smile crept onto her face.

"We're heeere." He called happily.

"Um….where's here?" Freya asked worriedly.

"Why don't you take a look on…1…2…3!" James shouted and pulled off her pink blindfold. She gasped instantly.

"Ahh…woooow…so pretty…" Freya whispered taking small steps.

James had brought her to a small clearing within the woods, where the grass was soft and green, there was a tiny stream and small waterfall, and tons of colorful flowers.

Freya loved flowers; they were her favorite thing in the world. She giggled and ran up to a patch of them and gasped in surprise when several beautiful butterflies flew out. Butterflies were another one of her favorite things.

"James…how did you find this?" Freya asked in an awe-struck tone.

"I ran into it when I was out training. I knew you'd love it right away and so I decided to bring you here! Isn't it great?" he asked her happily.

"Yes…it is…I love it…" Freya said closing her eyes and allowing the spring breeze to blow her soft locks around enchantingly.

James stared at her. She was caught in a small ray of light that came through the trees, and she was simply captivating. Her hair shimmered like liquid gold, and her skin glowed more beautiful than any star in the sky. Her small smile graced her lovely features just right and her eyes were closed angelically.

"Freya." James said gently.

"Yes?" she asked with that innocent smile of hers. James took her hand.

"E-eh?" she sputtered with her cheeks turning pink.

"You know I mean it right?...when I say that you're my princess right? And…I really am gonna make you my wife one day okay. I'm gonna get a really good job so I can buy you lots of flowers and strawberry shortcake! And I wanna buy a pretty clip to put in your hair! And then I—"

"James….I know you mean it…hehe you're so….nice…" she said simply, looking down timidly.

At the academy:

"I appreciate you coming down here Mrs. Stein." Maka said.

Caden and Ezekiel were shaking in fright in two chairs as they sat before Maka who had called Marie.

"Maka…I'm so sorry. What have my boys done _this_ time." Marie said sending her sons a death glare.

"Caden. Ezekiel. Why don't you tell your mother what you've been up to today." Maka said with a smile.

"Um…..well…" the boys said together.

Marie stood in front of them.

"If you two don't speak up right now, I won't give you cookies for a month! Have I made myself clear?" Marie said with her hands on her hips.

"OK MOM!" the boys cried at the same time.

"You see, we got bored and so we decided to play a game." Caden said.

"What kind of game?" Marie said not taking her eyes off of them.

"We filled some guns with sour milk and decided that whoever hit the most people after 5 minutes was the winner." Zeke explained.

Marie's scowl grew bigger, but she turned to face Maka instead of disciplining them right there.

"Maka, what punishment would you like to give?" Marie said seriously.

"They hit about 30 kids total so I say 30 days detention." Maka said calmly.

"THAT'S LIKE A MONTH!" the boys shouted in outrage.

"Very well….and BOYS." Marie glared. "When we get home, you two are going to have a talk with your father about this."

Caden and Zeke gulped…hard.

Back with Freya and James:

"Freya…." James said softly.

"Wh-what is it?" Freya said uneasily.

"Can I…kiss you?" James asked carefully.

Freya's heterochromic eyes widened and her cheeks turned the color of sakura petals.

"You don't have to say yes Freya. I'm sorry if I scared you." James said placing a hand on her upper arm comfortingly.

"Ok well…hold still so I don't miss alright?" James said, now blushing as well.

"Ok…" Freya breathed gently.

James took her shoulders gently and began to lean forward slowly. Freya leaned in too but even more slowly than James.

_Freya is my princess_ James thought.

_I like James…I like James a lot….he's…sweet…._ Freya thought.

Freya could feel the heat of his cheeks mixing with the heat of hers. He was so close.

"Shouldn't you be at school?" a deep voice said suddenly.

James and Freya's eyes shot open as the whipped around to see.….

"D-daddy….." Freya stammered.

(A/N: Freya's having a tough time mastering her skills due to insecurity, the boys are in deep trouble, and holy crap Stein walked up on his little girl getting kissed. Uh oh…hope you're enjoying so far!)


	2. Will you dissect me?

"Daddy…" Freya breathed.

Stein said nothing for a moment and simply stepped toward them.

"Why aren't you two at the academy?" Stein said in a flat tone. He didn't sound angry…and actually THAT was scary in itself. Because he didn't have a tone to his voice, it was difficult to tell what he was thinking.

"I…I-I" Freya tried to speak but she could only stumble over her words.

"Freya got upset, so I decided to bring her to a place that she'd like." James answered. Freya looked at him worriedly.

"What were you doing?" Stein said taking a few more steps.

"I-it was nothing.." Freya said looking down.

"I was going to kiss your daughter." James said in complete honesty. Freya gasped.

"James Rosenthal, do you understand what this sounds like to me? It sounds like you took my upset daughter here knowing that it would be a good opportunity to take advantage of her feelings. Is that right?" Stein said looking directly at James.

"No sir, not at all." James said staring directly back into Stein's eyes. "I love Freya and I'm going to marry her when we get old enough."

"J-James….wait…" Freya whispered.

"You're going to marry her? Do you realize my daughter is twelve? You're thirteen; are you sure it isn't your hormones talking?" Stein said stepping a bit closer to the green eyed weapon.

"It's not my hormones." James said. This time he took a step toward Stein.

Freya looked on anxiously with her small hands clasped over her mouth.

"Will you dissect me?" James asked.

"Will I have to?" Stein returned. "You have no right to be kissing my twelve year old daughter."

James finally became frustrated.

"Agh…I don't care if you DO dissect me!" James shouted. Freya gasped between her fingers.

"That's irrational if you ask me." Stein said.

"Cut me open and take out anything you want, but I won't stop liking her!...I just have….one favor to ask." James said looking at Stein with intense eyes.

"A favor?" Stein questioned.

"When you dissect me, I want you to leave me with at least five things. You can pull all the rest out of me, or cut it off…you can have me run on machines; I only want five things. I want my eyes, so I can watch Freya grow, see her beauty, and make sure she's safe. I want my ears so I can hear her voice. I want at least one hand, so I can dry her tears when she cries and comfort her when she's lonely, and give her a high five when she's done well. I want my mouth…my voice…so I can tell her all the time how much I love her. And I want my heart….so I can feel it race when she smiles…" James said staring at Stein with clenched fists.

James was speaking confidently and looked strong on the outside but inside…he was actually terrified. Stein was one strong guy; not someone to be fucked with and he really WOULD dissect someone.

"James…." Freya sniffed with one tear running down her cheek.

"Rosenthal…..you're off the hook. Don't do it again though." Stein said passing James and wrapping an arm around Freya's shoulders.

"D-daddy…" she sniffed looking at her father.

James smiled.

"Thanks dad." James said kindly.

"Dad?" Stein questioned.

"Well I AM going to marry Freya ya know. I mean you seem content now." James said with a gentle smile.

"I said I wouldn't dissect you. I never said you could marry my Freya." Stein said smirking slightly.

"You'll come around…" James winked.

Stein said nothing and guided his daughter toward home. Freya looked back for a moment to see James winking at her and giving a thumbs up; she giggled and turned back around.

Back at the Stein residence:

"Weeeell dad's not home! Looks like we can't talk after all!" the twins said attempting to walk away but Marie snatched their shirt collars.

"He'll be back soon, don't worry." Marie said smiling.

The boys gulped hard and sweated.

A small silvery-white haired girl walked out of her room. Her gold eyes focused on the twins.

"Hey Anna! Whaaaaat's up?" the twins said smiling.

"Stupid." She said before walking toward the kitchen. The boys frowned and ran toward the kitchen entrance and blocked it.

"Is that all you know how to say sis?" Zeke asked.

"Yeah Annabelle, you always say 'stupid' to us." Caden added.

"Baka, stupido, stupide, estupido, sha gua. Those are a few ways of saying stupid…in different languages, stupids." Annabelle said blandly.

"Wow, you're mean!" the boys cried throwing their hands up to their foreheads dramatically.

"Ungeheuer dumm." The six year old girl muttered as she pushed her way past them.

"Hey what does that mean?" the twins shouted.

"It's German…incredibly stupid." She said glaring before drinking a cup of water.

The boys shrieked and fell backwards.

"Oh Caden! Don't worry! I don't think you're stupid!" Zeke cried dramatically.

"Ezekiel! You are my strength in adversity! You are the most smartist guy EEEEVERRRR!" Caden exclaimed before hugging his brother in a fit of laughter.

Marie stared on with a sweat drop falling from the back of her head.

Suddenly the front door opened.

"Heeeey! Freya-chan chan is home! Hey Freya-chan chan!" the boys said hugging her tightly.

"Wh-why do you call me that?" she said shyly.

"Because it's fun!" they explained.

"Boys, why don't you tell your father what you did for FUN today." Marie said.

"What did you do?" Stein asked raising an eyebrow.

"Um…we…ok, we sprayed a bunch of people with sour milk." Caden said shrugging.

"It was pretty funny." Zeke said, before gasping along with his brother.

"BUT IT WAS HIS IDEA!" they both shouted in unison, pointing fingers at each other.

They both growled and tackled each other and rolled around on the floor biting, kicking, and shouting.

"That's enough." Stein said simply.

"So um…what are you going to do?" The twins asked, using puppy dog eyes to sway Stein's "emotions".

"That look won't change my mind about anything. All I'm going to do for now is ask that you not do it again…if this incident repeats itself, I may have to dissect you." Stein said smirking.

The boys stood up straight and saluted their father.

"YES SIR!" they shouted before racing off to their room.

"Daddy…." Freya whimpered.

"Yes, what is it?" Stein asked gently. Freya was definitely one to be handled carefully.

"I-I'm a bad meister." Freya sniffed bringing her hands up to her eyes. "I k-keep messing up!" she coughed. Stein sighed and led her over to the couch with Marie.

"Sweetie…you'll get better. You're so smart." Marie said rubbing her daughter's back. Freya shook her head.

"You're already improving." Stein added wrapping an arm around her. Even though he had been disappointed in seeing her trying to smack lips with her weapon, he absolutely adored her.

Annabelle walked in and stood in front of Freya.

"You're smart Freya, but you are a bad meister. Be more confident." The precocious child said before walking away. Stein and Marie sighed at their younger daughters behavior.

"What if I never get good enough?" Freya sobbed.

"Shhh enough of that…." Marie said pulling her daughter into her arms. Freya stopped crying. "I love you… Freya, you're shy….but don't let that get you down….do you remember Crona?" Marie asked kindly. Freya nodded.

"Crona was VERY shy, but you know how strong he was remember?" Marie said smiling. Freya smiled back. She felt better already.

Later that night:

Freya was snuggled into bed. It was midnight but she couldn't sleep…then her eyes shot open in fear as she heard a tapping against her window. She slipped out of bed in her short silky pink nightgown and fearfully grasped the curtains. After taking a few deep breaths she whipped them back and almost screamed when a face pressed up against the window.

"James!" she exclaimed quietly as she opened her window. "What are you DOING here?" she whispered.

"I'll only be here for a second ok?" he assured with a smile.

"What is it?" she hissed.

"We're gonna do something really cool tomorrow ok? Get some rest….and also…" James said before leaning in quickly and pressing his lips against her forehead, making her whole face turn red.

"I'll see you tomorrow, princess.." he said before jumping down and running off.

Freya closed her window gently and sunk down onto her bed cupping her forehead.

That James was too much.

(A/N: Hmmm what could James be planning? Hehe next chapter coming soon!)


	3. Enter the Evil Meister: Jezebel Appears!

Freya walked into the academy rather nervously the next day. She was honestly having quite a bit of anxiety about what James had said last night about doing something interesting today.

"Freya!" a pink haired girl called.

"Oh Mariko…hi…" Freya said sheepishly.

"Freya…I'm sorry about yesterday…I was out of line. Forgive me?" Mariko offered. Freya giggled.

"uh huh!" Freya said smiling.

"I'm sorry too girl." A tomboyish voice said from behind Freya.

"Naomi…I forgive you too." Freya said.

"Haha, cool so we're all still friends!" Naomi said patting Freya's shoulder.

"Let's be mooooore than friends ladieees!" the twins said wrapping their arms around their weapons.

"Hehe really Caden? You're so silly…but be serious! Today is important ok." Mariko laughed.

"GET THE HELL OF ME YOU DIPSTICK!" Naomi shouted launching Zeke into the air.

_Important…_ Freya pondered as her brothers argued with their meisters.

"Freya! I was worried you wouldn't make it. I was going to come get you…" James said running up to her.

"So James…why is everyone so riled up?" Freya asked noticing all the kids in the hall chatting with each other excitedly.

"Wha? You mean you don't know?" Naomi said.

"Freya, today is when we test are weapon and meister skills in the field. We spar." Mariko explained.

"It's old fashioned fuuuun!" the twins said sandwiching Freya. "A machine chooses teams at random to go up against one another! You never know whooooo you'll get!" the boys said in unison laughing like crazy.

"Sp-spar?" Freya stammered. "I…no…I wanna go home right now!" Freya shouted as she took off toward the exit with her eyes clenched shut.

Damnit. She ran into something.

"Ah!" Freya cried as she fell backwards. When she opened them and looked up her eyes widened in terror.

"Hey there fraidy-cat Freya. Where are you going? You running away? Freya the failure. Feeble Freya. Filthy Freya." A dark purple haired girl said smirking. Her almost black, purple eyes flashed with cruelty.

"J-Jezebel…" Freya stuttered.

"Awww are you scared? I can't blame you, freaky Freya. You're only 4 feet tall and 50 puny pounds….I'm 5' 6'' and a perfect weight….you're underweight and too small for your age…pitiful preemie." Jezebel sneared.

"I-I…I can't help that I'm tiny.." Freya said weakly.

"Yeah, and you can't help that your eyes are all weird. I bet your weird daddy poked out one of your eyes and shoved someone else's in because you looked so damn ugly at birth that he had to change SOMETHING about you." The purple haired 13 year old scoffed.

"That's not true! I was…I was…I was born this way!" Freya said with drops of saline moisture forming in the corners of her eyes.

"Awww now she's crying like a baby." A male voice laughed.

"R-Ravana too…" Freya choked.

Ravana was Jezebel's weapon, and an amazing one at that. He had two forms: a battle axe and a 10 bladed giant throwing star….he was amazing. He was 14 and tall for his age with tan skin, black hair, and blood red eyes that almost glowed. His teeth were jagged like a shark's. He was intimidating.

"You're gonna get destroyed you runt!" Ravana said laughing.

"L-leave me alone!" Freya cried desperately.

Jezebel kicked Freya in the stomach, making her keel over in pain.

"Is that it?...pathetic. I bet your daddy hates you." Jezebel said happily.

"Get away! GET AWAY FROM HER!" James barked, rushing forward and scooping Freya up.

"Awww here he is like usual…saving the day." Jezebel said smoothly.

"You stay the hell away from my meister." James growled.

"James…when are you going to ask me out? My father would loooove to get to know you." Jezebel said smiling provocatively.

"Never! I'd rather have my soul ripped out by a kishin!" James shouted angrily.

With that James lifted the injured Freya and spun around leaving Jezebel and Ravana behind.

"James…I'm sorry." Freya whimpered.

"Shhh it's ok…me and you are going to fight together today, and everyone will see that Freya Marie Stein has what it takes to make me a death scythe!" James said with an encouraging smile.

"I-I'm scared that…I'll embarrass you!" Freya sobbed into his chest.

"If I was worried about that, I wouldn't be your partner…I love you Freya." James said kissing her tiny nose.

"Daddy is still mad." Freya giggled.

"At least my dissection has been postponed." James chuckled. Freya smiled in response.

"Will you try today? I want you to Freya…I know you can do it if you try. We'll fight together, and do our best…with a smile ok!" James said winking at the girl in his arms before setting her down carefully.

"I…I will try." Freya said tracing circles on the ground with her tiny white sandals that had blue butterflies on them.

"You look cute today Freya." James said confidently. Freya blushed and made several embarrassed sounds.

She was wearing a fitted sky blue shirt with a yellow flower in the middle of it and a pink bird on the shoulder of the shirt. She paired it with a sky blue, white, and yellow plaid themed pleated skirt.

"I…" she didn't know what to say.

"Just say thank you." James said taking one of her hands.

"Th-thank you." Freya squeaked.

A bell rang.

"Time to go to the arena! Will alllll you ladies cheeeer for…a couple of lonely souls?" the Stein twins begged with large puppy dog eyes.

All the girls in the hall swooned and squealed.

"Oh girls…thank you." The boys said swooning in response.

Mariko, James, and Freya laughed while Naomi rolled her eyes.

"Why do they do that dumb stuff?" Naomi said rubbing the back of her head.

"Do I detect a hint of jealousy?" Mariko said poking her friend.

"As if! Zeke can shove his ego up his ass! He can flirt with all the girls he wants!" Naomi growled.

Freya, James, and Mariko all thought _Yeah…I'm totally convinced._

Once all the students had gathered in the arena, Maka stepped forward.

"Alright everyone…I want you to take this all very seriously. This is in NO WAY a death match. You can harm your opponent, but you may do nothing lethal. The objective is to knock your opponent unconscious, knock them out of bounds, or have them surrender." Maka announced seriously. "If anyone breaks these rules, the consequences will be severe, and you may be expelled. Now that you have an understanding…the first two teams will be announced."

Everyone waited anxiously as the machine scrambled different names until it finally stopped….everyone waited for the names to be read.

"First pair: Jezebel Bellicose and Ravana Egregion!" Maka called. The pair smirked devilishly and made their way to the arena.

"Second pair: Ezekiel Stein and Naomi Marakawa!" Maka shouted.

"Hehe! That's me bro!" Zeke said giving his twin a high five.

"Kick some ass you two!" Caden said throwing a punch above his head.

"No problem. I'll have that bitch begging for mercy in ten seconds flat." Naomi said giving a thumbs up.

Freya looked on nervously while James, Mariko, and Caden laughed. All the girls swooned as Zeke made his way to the arena.

"How does it feel to be up against a REAL meister, Jezebel?" Naomi said with a smirk.

"A REAL fool of a meister, you mean. How pathetic…" Jezebel said smoothly as she stretched out her arm, signaling Ravana to transform. He immediately glowed a blackish-purple light and transformed into a giant battle axe.

"Ha! If you think that's gonna scare me then you're stupider than you look!" Naomi said allowing Zeke to transform into a gigantic machine gun.

"Please…be careful…" Freya whispered.

She was truthfully….afraid.

(A/N: hehe Jezebel means "impure" and Ravana is an evil demon king in Hindu mythology. What will happen next? Also, in reference to Freya's size: an average twelve year old girl should be anywhere from 4' 5" and up; Freya is 4'. The weight of a girl that is 4' should be a minimum of 60lb and Freya is but 50. This is due to her being so small at birth. More chapters coming soon!)


	4. Pain and Sorrow

All eyes were fixed on the arena…especially the eyes of all the academy's girls.

"I both of you are ready…." A male referee began, "BEGIN!"

At this call Naomi was the first to attack. She shouted and began to fire compressed dark green wavelengths from her weapon. They weren't going to kill, but would sure as hell knock someone out.

Jezebel twirled Ravana around in front of her, using him as a shield against the ongoing attacks.

"Ugh, damnit!" Naomi shouted as she charged head on toward her opponent. "Zeke!" she shouted as a signal.

"Alrighty!" he shouted back happily as he changed forms into a black and yellow pistol.

Jezebel immediately took action and…ran away? She began to run circles around Naomi.

"What the hell are you doing?" Naomi asked irritated by the strange behavior.

"Just thought this would annoy you." Jezebel said snidely.

"It's not annoying me…it's pissing me off!" Naomi yelled and began to charge but suddenly she froze. "I-I can't move!" she said.

"What's happening Naomi?" Zeke asked.

The audience watched anxiously from the balcony, as the scene before them became more and more intense.

Naomi looked down at the floor below them and saw that the ground below them was glowing a bright purple, forming a massive circle around them.

"How does it feel Naomi? To be trapped and unable to do a thing?" Jezebel taunted.

_Damnit! I can't even move my arms to fire Ezekiel! _Naomi thought in frustration.

"It's over…." Jezebel said darkly as she had Ravana transform into a long black chain.

"Would you like to see what a real meister can do?" Jezebel laughed.

With that she swished the chain around above her head before releasing it and letting it fly toward Naomi.

Naomi braced for impact but was shocked when she wasn't hit. Rather, the chain wrapped around Ezekiel and ripped him from her hands.

"No!" Naomi cried, but there was nothing she could do as the chain that was Ravana flew up into the air and came crashing down into the cement floor, slamming Zeke into it.

Naomi watched in horror; she had never been so scared in her life. What could she do?

Then the chain began to constrict around Ezekiel's weapon form, tighter and tighter until the creak of bending metal could be heard along with Ezekiel's cries of pain.

"SOUL FORCE!" Jezebel cried happily as a surge of bright purple energy shot through the chain and hit Zeke with full force, throwing him up into the air.

Zeke was now in mid-air….in human form screaming in pain, before falling to the ground with a deafening thud.

"ZEKE!" Naomi screamed.

Jezebel laughed and released Naomi, knowing that it was all over. Naomi rushed over to her weapon's side.

"AAAAAH!" Zeke shrieked in pain. His arms and legs were bent the wrong way. His chest rose and fell unevenly, showing that he had broken ribs. He couldn't move; all he could do was scream in pain.

"IT HURTS! AAAH!" Zeke screamed with tears pouring from his eyes.

For once Naomi could feel tears welling up in her brown eyes. She began to reach out for her weapon but was intercepted by paramedics. One of them pulled a long syringe out of his pocket.

"What are you doing? What is that stuff? What are you going to do to him?" Naomi screamed as the paramedic lined the needle up with a vein on Ezekiel's wrist.

It only took a few moments. Ezekiel's screams faded into labored breathing and pained coughs before disappearing altogether.

"What did you do?" Naomi screeched.

"Relax. He's only sleeping." The man said, lifting Zeke onto a stretcher and carrying him off.

Naomi was frozen…what happened? How? It all happened so fast….she could faintly hear the cries of Caden, who chased after his brother.

There were several audience members gasping. Some were chatting amongst themselves and many girls were crying….one of them being Freya, who James was trying to comfort.

"Awwww that's too bad…I was really hoping for something better than complete trash. He was nothing. Just a worthless scrap. He didn't deserve to move forward…and neither do you." Jezebel said cruelly with a smile, while Ravana laughed.

Naomi snapped out of it and grit her teeth, and clenched her fists.

"You…I'LL KILL YOU!" Naomi screamed running toward Jezebel, only to be grabbed by Mariko. "LET ME GO!" Naomi shouted angrily.

"No! Attacking outside of a battle is forbidden!" Mariko said, holding her friend tightly; after some struggling, Naomi's body went limp.

"We'll be going now. Be sure to tell Zeke, thanks for the boring battle…it was a blaaaast." Ravana said.

"Come on Naomi….let's go catch up with Ezekiel…" Mariko suggested. Naomi said nothing but simply followed her friend and walked out of the arena.

"Freya….would you like to go see—"

"NO! No James I don't want to see my brother! I wanna go home! I've had enough! I've really had enough! I can't do this!" Freya sobbed.

"Freya…." James said pulling her close. "Shhhh….we'll take a break…we might not even fight today….we might not until tomorrow…shhhh…" James whispered stroking her hair.

"No….I don't wanna fight at all!" Freya cried uncontrollably.

"I know…..shh…let's go outside…." James comforted, leading her out carefully.

"I….wanna go to the u-unused classroom…wh-where we used to go wh-when we wanted to get away…" Freya said between choked sobs.

"Alright…" James said gently.

Once inside, James settled them down on some beanbag chairs in the back of the room. Over time, James and Freya had added small things to the classroom to make it more relaxed and nicer to hang out in.

James always had tissues ready in the room, because many times he brought Freya here when she was upset. He grabbed some tissues and offered them to her, now that her sobs were turning into small gasps and sniffles.

Finally when she was completely settled, James wiped some or her tears away with his finger and ran a hand through her hair.

"Do you feel a bit better?" James asked, stroking her still moist cheek; she blushed.

"Um….y-yes…" she stammered.

"We have that mini fridge in here; do you want something to drink?" he asked; Freya shook her head.

"Um…James?" Freya began.

"What is it?" he asked gently.

"I think….I'll still try fighting….because I t-told you that I would….try…I said that a-already…" she managed to get out. James smiled.

"And you say you're not brave…" he said winking. Freya smiled.

Then James cupped one of her cheeks, and allowed the tips of his fingers to rest in her hair a bit; she gasped.

"I'm sorry if this is the wrong time…." James said.

"Y-you can umm….the k word if you want…." Freya said glancing away. James couldn't help but crack up at her cute behavior.

"D-did I say something stupid?" she said worriedly; James shook his head.

"No, you're just cute is all." He said, as his eyes became half lidded.

He began to lean in and Freya copied the action. They were so close….then it happened…Freya missed.

"I-I am so sorry!" she cried in embarrassment.

James didn't answer but rather held both of her cheeks and pressed his lips gently against hers. Freya's eyes went wide, and her face burned. Her lips tingled and her body shivered before she finally closed her eyes and returned his kiss shyly.

_Her skin…her hair. It's so soft and warm…._ James thought as he pressed his lips more purposefully against her small soft ones.

_This isn't as scary as I thought it would be….but only because…it's James…_ Freya thought sweetly as she kissed him a bit more confidently and laced her fingers with his.

After about a minute of kissing, they both realized just how long their lips had been joined and they pulled apart abruptly with red cheeks.

There was an epic silence.

"Freya, you're my princess." James said finally as he pulled her into his arms and leaned back, allowing her to rest against his shoulder. "And I love you."

"I'm only twelve though…and you're thirteen…" she said quietly, but still with a smile.

"That's fine. Six years is nothing. Then I can kiss you whenever I want…." He said sweetly.

"Is that so?" a familiar deep voice said.

Oh….fuck…

Freya's eyes looked horror struck as her father strolled toward them.

"Umm…when did you get h-here?" she said in terrible embarrassment.

"We got a call from the school that Ezekiel was injured. You weren't in the infirmary. I detected your wavelength and came to find you." Stein explained. This time the disappointment in his voice was clear.

Stein looked around the room. The beanbag chairs, the mini fridge, snacks.

"So you've been here before." Stein said after making the observations.

"Daddy…I—"

"I'm not ready to hear it yet, Freya. I'm sorry." Stein said.

"James…I gave you prior warning. Why didn't you listen?" Stein said harshly.

"Because I love her too much…" James said.

"James Rosenthal, I try not to be strict…I'm normally fine with most things but…you are no longer allowed to see Freya outside of school or without supervision." Stein said.

Freya's eyes overflowed with silent tears.

"You aren't my dad! You can't do this!" James shouted desperately.

"I truly am sorry, but this is just not appropriate. I thought I could perhaps trust you from the way you spoke yesterday, but you've proven otherwise. Until you regain my trust, the rule stands." Stein said. "Freya, let's go and see your brother."

Freya dried her tears quickly and ran out of the room.

"I am sorry, James…" Stein said before following after his daughter.

James was left sitting alone.

"Damnit!" he shouted finally.

What now….?

(A/N: Wow…Zeke is severely injured and Freya got busted. Jezebel is quite the powerful bitch…we'll see what happens next)


	5. Sweet Revenge

Freya stood at the foot of Zeke's bed, looking on sadly. He already had a pale complexion, but it had gotten even paler. She walked over to Naomi who was trying not to cry.

"F-Freya…" Naomi choked. "Blood was coming out of his mouth…it was so scary…"

"Is he alright now?" Freya asked. Naomi nodded.

"H-he should be able to leave today…we have a healer. He had a fractured skull, and broken hip. Both of his arms and legs were broken and he also had a few broken ribs. I suppose the blood coming out of his mouth…well…hitting someone with your soul wavelength can do internal damage." Naomi managed to say.

Freya sniffed and let a few tears fall from her eyes. Caden was sobbing in an armchair and being consoled by Mariko. Marie was crying a bit and stroking her son's hair, and even Annabelle looked distraught.

Freya felt Stein's hand on her shoulder, but for the first time in her life, she shrugged it off. Stein relinquished his arm in surprise.

Freya was listening to different names being called over the loud speaker…

"Alex Kohl and Jacob Maxwell! Shaun Tennor and Ayako Honda! Hannah Kibbons and Rhiannon Meyer!" Maka's voice called.

It was all static to Freya, but at the same time her heart ached for those going to battle….what would happen to them? There were only so many spaces for the tournament, and so teams had to sign up quickly if you wanted to be in….apparently James signed her up.

A small croak was heard from Zeke and everyone immediately circled him.

"Zeke, can you hear me? It's Naomi…how do you feel?" she asked gently.

"…..Lrk a hrnee ternn hrvin sx wlll rdera huss" he slurred.

"You're going to have to repeat that." Naomi said leaning closer.

"Like a horny teen having sex while riding a horse…" he breathed while smiling.

Naomi rolled her eyes.

"I'd say he's doing JUST FINE everyone." Naomi said gruffly.

"N-Naomi…" Zeke coughed. She turned around.

"Yeah what?" she said slightly annoyed by what he said earlier.

"You did good fighting….and you looked good while doing it too." Zeke said giving a meek smile.

Naomi looked at him wide eyed. Zeke had never said something like that to her before. Why would he say it now? He was hurt badly because she couldn't do anything to protect him. She couldn't handle this.

Naomi took a deep breath and walked out quickly.

"MY EZEKIEL!" Caden cried kissing his brother on the cheeks, forehead, and nose.

"Hey…did you see how bad a wiped out?...pretty cool…" Zeke breathed. The twins laughed together.

Annabelle walked up next, and Zeke wasn't going to say a word because usually she just gave him an attitude.

"Don't scare me like that…stupid!" she cried before plopping down in a chair.

"Hey sweetie….how are you?" Marie whispered.

"Can I have a cookie?" was Zeke's answer; Marie laughed.

"Hey dad, I feel pretty good. Can I go home? That way I can get a cookie from the kitchen and you can butter mom's muffin." Zeke said slyly, making a perverted face; Caden burst into laughter.

"That's disgusting Zeke. I raised you better than to talk like that." Stein said.

"Can we talk about sex dad?" Caden asked from the corner.

"No." was Stein's simplistic answer. "There are ladies in the room you two, and even if there wasn't I still wouldn't talk about it."

Marie walked over to Freya during the commotion.

"Freya…what's wrong?" Marie asked hugging her daughter.

"It's nothing momma…" Freya said.

"I think I know when something is bothering my daughter. So tell me what's going on." Marie said with a smile.

"C-can we go outside to talk?" Freya asked. Marie nodded and led her daughter out of the room a ways.

"So what's wrong?" Marie said holding her daughter close.

"I….well….James and I spent some time alone…a-and we kissed and daddy caught us! And now he says we can't see each other outside of school! B-but James loves me! H-he calls me his princess and says he's going to marry me when we grow up!" Freya sobbed. She was in shock when she saw her mother's eye turn into a heart.

"M-mommy?" Freya questioned. She was caught off guard when Marie hugged her so tightly it almost killed her.

"Oh my daughter's in love!" Marie swooned. "Awwww listen, your daddy just doesn't want you getting into trouble…and he LOVES you Freya. You're his little girl…can you understand why he wouldn't want to just hand you over? He wants to keep you safe…" Marie said stroking her daughters back.

Freya sniffed and nodded her head.

"I just w-want to be with James…he helps me wh-when I don't feel like coming to school anymore…" Freya said with a bittersweet smile.

"Freya dear…this may be meddling on my part but when we get home, I'll send you daddy out to the store…while he's gone I want you to go with James somewhere on a little date!" Marie said happily.

"Won't daddy be mad?" Freya asked.

"Let me handle that." Marie said kindly.

"Hehe…I love you mommy." Freya said hugging her mother, who smiled.

"Hey Freya…how's Zeke?" came a familiar voice.

"Oh James…hi…" Freya said delicately; things were a bit awkward. "Um…he's doing better…"

"Oh um that's good. Hey there Mrs. Stein." James said politely but still with some nervousness.

"Hello there James. Say, I know this is out of the blue, but how would you like to take my little Freya on a date tonight? 5:30 pm sharp." Marie said with sparkles in her eye.

"H-huh?" James said looking completely confused.

"Take her out. I'll deal with Franken." Marie said winking.

James and Freya laughed and nodded.

"Now then, let's go back and check on Ezekiel." Marie said smiling.

The two children followed with small smiles on their faces, obviously glad that Marie accepted their affection for each other.

"James, my brother!" Zeke called before coughing loudly.

"Hey there Ezekiel." James said patting Zeke's arm.

Caden's eyes bubbled up with fake tears.

"Zeke…I thought…I was your brother..wh-what have I done?" Caden said falling onto the ground dramatically.

"Caden! You are more than a brother to me…you are…a supernatural being…a brotherly GOD!" Zeke said triumphantly. Everyone sweat dropped.

"Well, well, well; this looks interesting. I wouldn't be celebrating losing so terribly if I were you." Jezebel said from the doorway.

Caden smirked at her.

"You shouldn't be worrying about us…you have MUCH BIGGER things to worry about." Caden said snickering behind his hands.

"What?" Jezebel questioned, only to be answered with more stifled laughter from Caden. "WHAT?"

"If you want to know…why don't you go check your locker…" Caden suggested, cocking an eyebrow deviously.

Jezebel's eyes widened and she raced down the hall toward her locker.

"Ha, that girl has NO idea what she has coming…hehe _coming_…" Caden laughed.

1...2…3

"AAAAAAAAAH! WHAT IS THIS? MY HAIRBRUSH! MY MAKEUP! MY JEWELRY! NOOOO!" Jezebel's voice shrieked from down the hall.

Caden fell onto the ground and doubled over in laughter, rolling around everywhere. His face turned red from lack of oxygen.

"What did you do?" Mariko asked blinking a few times.

"Mariko…do you remember when I 'went to the restroom' before we came here?" Caden asked.

"Um yes…" she said.

"I paid a visit to Jezebel's locker instead…hehe I let go all of that pent up tension…" Caden said slyly.

Everyone's eyes widened except for Mariko and Freya who didn't understand.

"You…took a dump in her locker?" Mariko asked confused.

"No…I UNLOADED IN IT! HAHA HOORAY FOR DA JIZZ!" Caden shouted.

Zeke couldn't help it; he burst into hysterical laughter and fell onto the floor from his bed. Laughter hurt but he couldn't help it.

Marie looked absolutely mortified and the girl's mouths hung open.

"Caden….." was all James could say, shaking his head.

"Haha HEY DAD? ARE YOU GONNA KILL ME?" Caden managed to cough out between laughs.

"No…but I am going to ground you…for A MONTH." Stein said angrily.

"Haha! It was sooooo worth it!" Caden said running over to Zeke and hugging him.

"Bro, you kick ass! Way to jizz up the locker!" Zeke said giving his brother a high five.

"YOU DID WHAAAAT?" Came a shriek from the door.

"O-oh…heh heh…hey there Naomi…ummmm you aren't mad are you?" Zeke said rubbing the back of his head.

"….screw you….IMMATURE RETARD!" she shouted, storming off once again.

Zeke shook his head and smiled.

_Naomi, when will you be mine?_ Zeke thought closing his eyes.

(A/N: Haha the twins got some kick ass revenge there! More chapters coming soon. Reviews would be nice….)


	6. Fear and Love

Later that night, Ezekiel was already home and just as rambunctious as usual, along with Caden. Annabelle was back to her normal solitary self, and headed straight for her room. Stein and Marie were obviously very relieved to have their son home and doing well again. Stein was concerned, however, about Freya. She had been through quite a lot today and…when she shrugged off his hand…that was something completely new.

Stein's thoughts were broken when Marie came up to him with that beautiful smile on her face; the one that had always lit up his soul.

"Franken, I'm in the middle of making dinner but I really need a gallon of milk…would you mind going and picking one up for me?" Marie asked innocently.

"I don't mind." Stein said simply, standing up.

"Thank you." Marie said happily. She gave him a quick peck on the cheek and went back to the kitchen.

About 5 minutes after Stein left, Marie and Freya began to laugh a bit; their plan was working so far.

There was a knock at the door.

Freya immediately rushed over and smiled happily at the sight of James standing outside with a caring smile.

"Hey Freya…" James said taking one of her hands. Freya immediately blushed at the action.

"You two go on now alright? Where are you going?" Marie asked quickly.

"I'm going to take Freya to a very special part of the forest. Is that alright?" James said with a smile.

"Yes of course! Now go on and have fun, but don't be out too late ok?" Marie said before hugging the two.

They nodded in response and happily trotted away.

About 20 minutes later Stein arrived back home with the milk but looked sad to some degree.

"Thank you." Marie said smiling but soon recognized his expression. "What's wrong?"

"I suppose Freya hates me right about now." Stein sighed.

"I don't think that's true at all." Marie said placing a hand on Stein's.

"I should at least talk to her though. Where is she?" Stein asked softly.

….Marie giggled.

"Um Franken, Freya is actually out right now. She went on a date with James! I'm so happy for them! My little girl is in love!" Marie said joyfully.

"What? Marie, we are not encouraging this behavior. I'm going out to get her right now. Where did he take her?" Stein said firmly.

"Um…he took her to…uh…the forest! Yes the forest…hehe because you know he thought it would be ummm….nice!" Marie said nervously while rubbing the back of her head. Stein's eyes narrowed.

"Are they back in that classroom, Marie?" Stein asked.

"What? A classroom? Oh noooo no no. Haha there's no way that those two are in a classroom because they just ummm you know wouldn't be there….haha." Marie said looking even more nervous than before.

Stein said nothing and began to make his way out the door.

"You're a terrible liar Marie. I'm going to that classroom at once." Stein said before closing the door.

Marie stood in silence for a moment before bursting into laughter.

"Haha! I totally tricked him!" Marie laughed, falling to the ground.

She had purposely sounded nervous when she had told him Freya's whereabouts.

At the academy:

Stein burst into the unused classroom and saw…..nothing?

"But they were supposed to be…..Marie….she….she lied!" Stein growled as he finally realized her trick.

Ugh! How could he have been so stupid? He must have been so distracted and frustrated that he followed right along!

Damnit he had already wasted 20 minutes! Now he was going to have to waste 30 to 40 more! He knew where they were…he took her back to that forest clearing….

40 minutes later:

Stein made his way to the clearing quietly, so he could see just what was going on, when he got there. Suddenly he heard some rather…passionate sounds?

"Ah…Ah! Not so hard, James, it hurts. Oh." Came Freya's soft voice, sounding almost like a whine.

"Mph, sorry Freya. I'll try to be more careful but I sort of need to be rough. It's all over the place Freya.." said James a bit gruffly.

"Sorry…ah!" Freya gasped loudly.

"Ugh Freya…how did you get it there? You spilt it all over. Geez, your all sticky….hold still alright?" James said smoothly.

THAT BASTARD!

Snuggling up to his daughter was one thing but now….he was….MAKING LOVE TO HIS TWELVE YEAR OLD DAUGHTER? That was it! He WAS going to dissect James and he was going to do it while that boy was wide awake!

"Damn you!" Stein shouted flying out from behind some trees to catch them in the act of…ummm what?

Stein's eyebrow twitched at the sight before him. A half empty bottle of honey was sitting next to picnic basket, and Freya had managed to spill it all over herself….and James was just….cleaning it off…

"Daddy!" Freya cried out.

"James Rosenthal….what do I have to do to make you understand the situation?" Stein asked seriously.

"Daddy no! Don't get mad! It w-was my idea! And earlier today was my idea too! And kissing him was my idea!" Freya begged.

"Kissing him? You kissed?" Stein asked.

"Wha….but I thought that you caught us…" Freya said sadly.

"I caught you two cuddling….I didn't catch you kissing…" Stein said shaking his head.

Freya opened her mouth to speak but James stepped forward.

"Mr. Franken Stein, I'd like to ask you something formally. I'm sorry for not doing it earlier." James said politely.

"What is it?" Stein asked. He would hear this guy out, but only because Stein was one of the most patient guys ever.

"I would like to request _permission_ to date your daughter, Miss Freya Marie Stein." James said giving a small bow.

Stein stood still for a moment before responding.

"No." was all Stein said. "Freya, let's go home."

Freya stood still.

"Freya?" Stein asked slightly worried. Freya always listened right away.

"I-I don't want to!" Freya cried. "I wanna stay here with James!"

"Freya, listen—" Stein began.

"No!" Freya cried again, rushing up to James and clinging to his arm. "Please understand daddy!"

Stein froze. What should he do? Should he allow this? Why was he so concerned?

"Daddy…could it be that maybe you're worried that if I'm with James, I won't like you anymore?" Freya asked releasing her weapon's arm and taking a step toward her father.

Stein's eyes widened. His daughter had hit the nail on the head. She had understood what he couldn't. For twelve years Freya was HIS…she loved him, and listened to him, and looked up to him, but now…she was looking to someone else. Without him even realizing it, Freya had started changing….when she smiled, it wasn't just for him anymore. He had been worried what James would take his place in her heart. It wasn't just that he was worried for her safety; it was for his own selfish reasons….

"D-daddy?" Freya said softly as she touched her father's arm.

"Freya?" her father responded somewhat absentmindedly.

"I love you daddy…I've always loved you and I always will. James is just someone else I care for…okay daddy?" Freya said looking straight at her father, smiling lovingly.

Stein smiled to himself and said nothing, but rather approached James.

"Yes." He said putting a hand on James's shoulder.

"Um…yes what?" James said in confusion.

"Yes you may date my daughter." Stein said with a reassuring smile.

"R-really? REALLY? Can I really?" James said jumping in the air with joy.

"Yes you may, but keep the kissing to a minimum…and if you break my daughter's heart, I will kill you slowly and painfully." Stein said with a more sadistic than friendly smile.

"He he, sounds good to me, dad." James laughed.

"Don't call me dad." Stein said giving a dark glare.

"Ah! Sorry sir!" James said bowing multiple times.

"So daddy, can we finish our date, please?" Freya asked making an extremely cute face.

"Yes, but be home in by 8:00. That gives you an hour and a half. Understand?" Stein asked.

"Yes, sir!" James said. "I'll bring her home by 8:00!"

With that Stein left them.

"Daddy is a good guy." Freya said happily.

"Yeah, he's not bad at all. I still better keep my guard up though!" James laughed. "Freya….you know that we'll be fighting tomorrow right? And then the next day…the finalists will be fighting. Let's be one of finalists Freya." James said hugging her.

"Um…..o-ok. I-I….I'm going to…I'm going to do my best!" Freya said smiling brightly.

"Yes, and you'll do wonderfully." James assured before kissing her on the forehead.

She was going to win. She was going to do her best.

_My daddy was the best meister to ever graduate...I…I'm not a coward! _

(A/N: Awwwww haha Marie the matchmaker. Next chapter is Freya's battle! Reviews would be cool…)


	7. I'm Not A Coward

The next day Freya walked to the academy nervously with James. She tried so hard to hold her confidence but found herself wavering. It was so hard for her to fight of her insecurity; it had always been a part of her.

The whole world felt distant but intimidating at the same time, her stomach was in knots, her chest was locked tight, and her head felt fuzzy and ached. The sounds of people going about their daily business was far off static to her ears. Part of her wanted to retreat; go home. The other half of her though, begged her to move forward and face her fears; she tried to focus completely on that part of her soul.

"Freya, you're going to do beautifully." James said wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

"If w-we lose…I'm sorry…" she said.

"Freya, you need to stop apologizing so much. You haven't even done anything." James sighed.

Freya's eyebrows knitted together in thought at his comment.

"Hey there freaky Freya. Has your creepy dad chosen replacement eyes yet? When is he gonna gouge out those ugly eyes of yours and put new ones in?" snarled a familiar cruel voice.

"J-Jezebel…d-daddy would never! I was born with these eyes…" Freya said looking down at her feet.

"I ALMOST pity you for being born so ugly." Jezebel said with a smile.

"Stop it, you witch." James said standing in front of his meister.

"Hiding her again? Spoiled little freak…" Jezebel spat before stomping off.

James growled and looked back at Freya who looked empty.

"Freya, don't listen to her…not now." James said softly. Freya nodded sadly.

"Hey peachy peach!" the notorious twins called to Freya.

"Why do you two call me such weird names?" Freya asked as her brothers sandwiched her.

"Because we loooooove our sissy!" the said laughing.

"Come on you retards! The first battle of the day is about to be announced!" Naomi shouted.

"Oh Naomi Marakawa…you have such charm…" Zeke said wrapping an arm around her waist.

"Get your hands off me!" she hollered, punching Zeke into the sky.

After Zeke recovered, the group made their way to the arena once again.

"Alright everyone, listen up! The first battle of the day is….Caden Stein and his meister Mariko Law against Brock Blunts and his meister Sherry Tree!" Maka called.

"Oh yeah! Mariko, let's go!" Caden shouted, tugging his meister along. Mariko laughed and followed along.

"Damn why does she put up with him?" Naomi said gruffly.

"Because they were made for each other." Zeke said smiling.

"Huh?" Naomi said.

"They resonate perfectly…." Zeke said looking at Naomi.

"I…guess so." Naomi said looking up.

"Haha two blunt weapons going up against one another!" Caden said excitedly.

"Yes…Brock is a club and you are a hammer…" Mariko considered.

"Mom kicks ass! She's a death scythe! I'm gonna kick ass as a hammer! It's in my blood, Mariko! And you're gonna do awesome!" Caden said hugging his meister, who blushed in response.

"Ready for this Brock?" Sherry asked her weapon coolly.

"Yeah." Was all he said before transforming in a flash of tan light into a club made of cherry wood.

"Haha! Time for me to traaaaansform!" Caden cried punching the air as he transformed with a flash of golden light. He turned into a shining golden hammer with a black flame symbol on the side.

"If both teams are ready…..begin." the referee called while waving his arm down.

Sherry made the first move.

"I'm sorry to have to do this…because I find you so darn cute Caden Stein!" Sherry said blushing.

"It's ok, my lady! Happens a lot…but I must say e you have the most lovely cherry red hair I have ever laid eyes on and freckles are charming me…my heart is falling to pieces." Caden said in a princely tone, causing Sherry to stop in her tracks.

_Here's my chance!_ Mariko thought rushing forward and taking a huge swing at Sherry.

Unfortunately for Mariko, Brock was still alert. The twisty handle of the club untangled into several vines that wrapped around Caden, and stopped her attack midway.

"N-no!" Mariko stammered.

"Brock! Splinter shower; go!" Sherry shouted.

With that, dozens of wood splinters shot into Mariko's flesh, making her scream in pain and stumble backwards.

"Mariko!" Caden shouted.

Sherry attempted to take advantage of Mariko's vulnerability, but despite her pain, Mariko blocker her attack with Caden.

"I…won't…be…BEATEN!" Mariko cried, swinging Caden and knocking Brock from Sherry's hands.

"Cutie kick!" Mariko shouted, kicking Sherry hard in the stomach which sent her flying out of bounds.

There was a pause in the audience but soon the room was filled with whistling, cheers, and girly squeals for Caden of course.

Brock helped his meister up and patted her on the back, before looking up at Mariko and nodding.

Mariko smiled but her joy was short lived as she fell backwards onto the ground.

"Mariko!" Caden panicked as he transformed back into a human and held her up.

The splinters had pierced her all over and blood was seeping from the wounds.

"Oh….Caden…think you could take me to the infirmary?" Mariko asked, while managing a smile.

"Yes of course…" her weapon whispered, before scooping her up and carrying her away.

"Woo hoo! WOOT WOOT WOOT WOOT! THAT'S MY BRO!" Zeke boomed with tears pouring down his cheeks.

"He won…I'm so…so happy." Freya breathed.

"That means he'll be moving forward." James grinned.

"We should check on Mariko." Naomi said in a more commanding tone, than suggesting.

Everyone nodded in agreement…however, what came next was very unexpected…

"Next round: James Rosenthal and meister Freya Stein against Mason Hoffman and his meister Victor Alley!"

"I-I'm next?...J-James…I'm so scared!" Freya whimpered.

"Don't be Freya. You have what it takes to win this." James said.

"James..Mason and Victor are one of the best weapon and meister pairs in this school!" Freya said fearfully.

"It doesn't matter…because you're better." James said hugging her. "We need to get down there…the other team is already waiting."

As Freya stepped down to the arena with James, she could hear whispers amongst the crowd. She knew what they were saying…and what they were thinking. They knew she didn't stand a chance.

She stood in her corner shyly and somewhat stooped over, while the tall jet black haired Victor stood confidently; his grey eyes were filled with pure focus and confidence. He was unafraid.

"Mason." Was all Victor said in his smooth British accent. It was all he needed to say for his muscular friend to transform in a burst of dark grey. There he was…a giant mace. Just looking at his weapon form was terrifying.

"James…umm…could you…" Freya began. James smiled and nodded at her.

In a gleam of green, James transformed. He truly was a beautiful looking scythe. The handle was a stainless steel color and his blade was a light metallic grass green.

"Freya, let's do our best." James said encouragingly.

Freya didn't respond.

"I almost feel bad for the girl…" Victor said dryly.

"If you are prepared…fight!" the referee shouted.

Victor didn't hesitate to take action. He rushed forward at amazing speed considering the heavy weapon he was carrying. Freya screamed and began running away.

"Freya, what the hell are you doing?" Naomi screeched from the balcony.

"COME ON BRING IT SISSY!" Zeke shouted, jumping up and down.

"Victor, this is ridiculous. Let's lay it out for her." The mace sighed. Victor stopped.

"Miss Stein, a word." Victor said calmly.

Freya looked at him fearfully and blinked a few times.

"I will give you a chance to retreat. I understand…well _everyone_ understands that you just aren't cut out for this. It's unfair for me to harm you." Victor said.

Freya gasped and her eyes watered.

"Oh..my…GOD! What the hell is up with that?" Naomi growled.

"You lack what it takes Freya…it is a shame. So will you surrender? Or are you going to stay and fight? If you chose to stay, I will not hold back or give you a second chance to surrender." Victor said narrowing his grey eyes.

"Give….up…" Freya breathed.

"He's trying to tell you that you suck freaky Freya! And he's right! What good are you at all? Get off the floor! Nobody wants to see you!" Jezebel shouted.

"I…I…" Freya let her head drop.

Zeke's eyes watered.

"She's…giving up." Zeke said sadly.

"I…I am…I AM NOT FREAKY FREYA! I AM FREYA MARIE STEIN! I'm a meister! That's who I am! I'm not a coward! I'm not a coward!" Freya shouted with tears splashing out of her eyes. Her eyes weren't filled with sadness however…only pure determination.

"Check that out Victor." Mason said.

"Yes, the insecure meister has summoned all of her courage…what little there is…" Victor observed.

"I'M NOT A COWAAAAARD!" Freya cried running forward and taking a giant leap into the sky.

"AAAAH!" she screamed as she swung James downward.

Victor of course blocked the attack easily, but was nonetheless wide eyed at Freya's sudden boldness.

"I won't be beaten!" Freya shouted.

She pressed James's blade up against Mason harder and did a flip off of it, landing behind Victor on her feet.

"Freya let go of James!" Zeke shouted in shock.

"What the hell is she thinking?" Naomi said.

"I'm going to win!" Freya said with complete determination as she kicked Victor in the very middle of his back.

Victor coughed loudly and flew across the arena and barely stopped himself in time to keep from flying out of bounds.

"When did Freya get so much power?" Naomi said wide eyed and her mouth hanging open in pure awe.

"She always had it; just never used it." Zeke said with a big smile. "GO SIS!"

Freya grabbed James up off the ground and began running in zig-zags toward Victor who was now back on his feet.

"Mason! Chain mace form!" Victor commanded.

The handle Victor was holding onto became a chain instead. Victor swung Mason above his head faster and faster.

_I have to get her the first time! She's coming fast…damnit those zig zag patterns are unpredictable! _Victor thought angrily.

Victor roared and made a toss.

CLAAAAANG!

"James!" Freya screamed as her partner flew from her grasp. He landed on the other side of the arena, unharmed, but he wouldn't be able to get back to her in time….perfect for Victor.

Freya gasped and turned around. Mason was back in regular mace form and Victor was charging right for her.

"It's over Freya!" Victor shouted. "GOODBYE!"

_I have to try something….PLEASE WORK!_ Freya thought as she screamed and ran straight for him.

"What is she thinking? She has no weapon!" Zeke cried in terror.

Freya reached out with all she had to grab Victor's arm.

"What does she plan to do when she gets ahold of him? He'll beat her down anyway! She won't have time to attack!" Naomi cried.

"NOW!" Freya screamed as she snatched Victor's arm.

"NO!" James sobbed.

Wait…Victor was…frozen.

"Wh-what?" Victor stammered. "I can't move!"

The audience gasped in shock as they chatted amongst themselves.

"What did you do?" Victor demanded.

"Look at your feet closely." Freya said smiling.

"Wh-what is this?" Victor said looking down. "My feet are stitched to the ground!"

"You listen to me Victor. This is the soul thread sutures attack; there are even stitches inside your body, preventing your movements! This technique is from my daddy! I watched him do it myself! I watched him practice it and slowly over time I tried it over and OVER in attempts to perfect the skill myself! Daddy never taught me…so I didn't know if I would be able to get it to work…but it looks like I did! I did it on my own! Can everyone see this? Maybe I'm not so worthless then am I?" Freya screamed before kicking Victor in the stomach.

Victor spat up blood and flew off the stage screaming in the air before crashing to the ground out of bounds.

Freya panted heavily and looked around her. The audience was silent…until.

"MY SISTER IS A STAAAAAAR!" Zeke screamed with tears pouring from his eyes; sincere tears.

The whole audience began screaming, whistling, cheering, and clapping.

"I won…." Freya sighed with a smile. A few tears streamed down her cheeks before she collapsed.

"Freya!" James cried running up to her and lifting her up in his arms. He ran up the stairs and headed for the infirmary followed by Naomi and Ezekiel.

"In case you're wondering what's wrong, she's gonna be fine!" Zeke said giving a thumbs up and shining smile. "Those sutures take a LOT of energy and focus; more than you could imagine! Even my dad had to concentrate hard to use the technique properly."

Rushing into the infirmary, they saw Mariko already healed and sitting up chatting with Caden.

"Freya!" Mariko cried in worry.

"Sis!" Caden said jumping up and following after her.

"Oh chill the hell out!" Naomi snarled. "She's fine…just tired…our little Freya won…AND against Victor Alley no less!"

Mariko and Caden gasped and then began to cry happily….everyone was crying…even Naomi.

"Um…excuse me?" a young voice asked. Everyone looked over to see a young blonde boy with bright blue eyes standing before them in a miniature priest's robe.

"Umm what the hell are you doing here Nathaniel?" Naomi asked with a cocked eyebrow.

"Naomi! It has been a while. I'm here doing healing of course! What good are healing powers if I don't use them?" Nathaniel said smiling brightly.

"You're like eight years old…go the hell home." Naomi said punching the top of his head, creating a bump.

"Naomi! Be nice to my little brother!" Mariko begged.

"Ugh, Nathaniel Moses Law, you are so full of crap…you're an annoying person ya know that?" Naomi muttered.

"Well Miss Marakawa, some people have said the same about you lately…" Nathaniel said innocently with sparkling blue eyes.

Naomi tried to punch him but was held back by all the boys and Mariko as well.

"You bastard! God damn I hate you!" Naomi shouted angrily. Nathaniel just laughed it off and stood next to Freya.

"She is quiet angelic looking isn't she?" Nathaniel said suddenly, causing all the chaos to end.

Everyone considered it for a moment before smiling and nodding.

"Yeah…you got that right." Naomi said, standing by her best friend's bedside.

Suddenly chaos was brought back in when Marie came busting in.

"Freya! Where's my Freya?" Marie cried before finally spotting her daughter. "No! Oh…no…"

"Um woah hey Mrs. Stein, don't be a freak spaz. She's doing just fine." Naomi said giving Marie an odd look.

Marie looked up with a moist eye. Stein and Annabelle came in next.

Before Stein could speak, James spoke.

"Mr. Stein…your daughter won. She won against Victor Alley and Mason Hoffmann…and just wait until you hear how she did it." James said proudly as one small tear fell from his bright lime green eyes.

Stein and Annabelle stood in shock, while Marie bawled tears of joy.

_I told you Freya…now do you see?...that you're a princess…._

(A/N: WOOT! Hooray for Freya kicking ass and moving up to the finals! Thank you for reading and as always, reviews would be nice!)


	8. What Is This Noise?

Everyone was in a state of complete awe after James explained the entire battle against Victor.

"How remarkable, I considered my sister quite the pitiful meister up until now." Annabelle said.

"Freya…" Stein said softly, kneeling by his daughter's bed to clear some of the hair out of her face.

"It looks like she doesn't need healing; just a bit of sleep." Nathaniel said smiling; then his eyes went wide as he took a better look at Annabelle. He stepped forward.

"Hello there, my name is—" Nathaniel began politely.

"I know who you are." Annabelle said harshly. "Nathaniel Moses Law. You are the youngest child and only son of Noah and Kana Law. Your father planned my parents wedding and your mother's maiden name is Furukawa; she was a nurse for my parents during my mother's pregnancy."

"Wow…you are smart." Was all Nathaniel could say.

"Of course I am; what do you take me for? I am Annabelle Ellie Stein, the youngest and most intelligent of my siblings. My first name means beauty and my middle means light. Now you've learned something, which is good because I can tell that you're stupid." Annabelle said placing her hands on her hips.

Nathaniel seemed completely ignorant of anything she just said and kept on smiling.

"You can call me Nate or Nathan if you'd like." He said kindly.

"Just as I thought; you're stupid. If only others in this world would make beneficial plans for their future." Annabelle sighed.

"Ummm what do you want to do when you grow up?" Nathan asked.

"I am going to become a scientist. I plan to invent the cure for cancer, and I WILL succeed because of my superior intellect. I will never get married or have children, and be entirely independent. Perhaps after inventing the cure for cancer, I can create a cure for human stupidity." She said glaring at Nathan.

He ignored her glare, but his face looked puzzled.

"You don't want to get married? But you're so pretty and smart." He said sadly. Annabelle looked shocked at his words.

"You find me attractive?" she asked slowly.

"Yes; you're very pretty." Nathan said smiling.

"Your eyes deceive you." Was all she said before taking her leave. "Mother. Father. I am going to the library at once to find a book suitable for the mood I am in right now. Send the foolish Nathaniel to retrieve me when Freya awakens." Annabelle announced, before walking out entirely.

There was silence for a long time.

"What the hell is wrong with her?" Naomi finally said, causing the twins to laugh.

"Annabelle is just a bit formal is all….actually I wish she wasn't…" Caden said somewhat sadly.

"Yeah, from the time she was young, she never wanted to play with us and was never very nice to us…so Caden and I never got to be big brothers to her." Zeke said with disappointment.

"That's kind of sad…" Mariko said.

The twins sighed at the same time. A small stir and groan was heard from Freya's bed.

Everyone darted over right away.

"Hey Freya, are you up? You there?" the twins asked.

Freya just groaned a bit but didn't open her eyes.

"Freya, your mother and I are here." Stein said touching her arm.

Still just a groan.

"Come on Freya…" Mariko and Nathan urged. Finally Naomi growled.

"Of for God's sake! FREYA MARIE STEIN! GET THE HELL UP BEFORE I SPLIT YOUR FREAKIN HEAD OPEN!" Naomi shouted at the top of her lungs.

Freya's eyes shot open and she bolted up right in bed.

"What's going on?" she cried out.

"Ha ha! Good mooooorning sleeping beauty!" the twins called kissing her cheeks.

"What? Mommy…daddy? Everyone's here…" Freya said sleepily. She gasped. "The infirmary…d-did I lose…?"

"No you dumbass. You won! Don't you remember?" Naomi said smiling and slapping her friend on the back.

"I won….I won!" Freya said happily. "I won everybody!"

"Freya, I didn't know you were practicing the soul thread technique." Stein said looking at her.

"O-oh…yeah I decided not to tell you because I thought you might get worried that I was trying it. It was so much work and I wasn't very good at it. I'd lose concentration and then I'd have to start all over." Freya explained with a shy smile.

"Well it kicked some ass out on the field today." Naomi said smirking.

"Freya, I'm SO proud of you." Marie said tearfully, while hugging her daughter. Freya smiled.

Stein soon joined Marie in hugging his daughter. He did so without words, but Freya knew full well what he was thinking and feeling.

"This is getting waaaaay too emotional for me. Hey Caden, do you wanna go to the bathroom and measure our penises?" Zeke asked with a laugh.

"Now you're talking!" Caden said racing out of the room with his brother.

Mariko giggled and Naomi huffed.

"What the hell is wrong with those two?" Naomi growled, shoving her hands in her camo cargo pants pockets.

"They're just being silly." Mariko giggled.

"Ah, Annabelle I have to get her! I'll be right back!" Nathan shouted as he darted from the room.

Nathaniel ran quickly down the clean halls of the school, his priest's robe swished back and forth from the motion. He finally reached the large library door and parted it quickly.

"Annabelle, are you here?" Nathan called.

"This is a library; be quiet." Annabelle said approaching him.

"Hey there Annabelle, did you find a book you liked?" the blonde boy asked brightly.

"Yes, this one." She said holding up a rather thick book.

"Excalibur?" he asked raising an eyebrow.

"Yes, the legendary holy sword. What you've never heard of it?" Annabelle said with her glowing gold eyes narrowing.

"Um…no I haven't." he said sheepishly.

"Figures. You are foolish after all." Annabelle said simply.

"Annabelle, is being smart really all you care about? I mean it seems like you don't like your brothers at all…" Nathan said staring at her intently.

"Because I don't like them. They don't contribute anything to society. The only thing they add to this life, is more ignorance, filling the world with more ignorance and petty activities." Annabelle said with disgust.

"But I like your brothers…they're quite funny and very kind hearted, and they are also handsome. Don't those things count?" Nathan said looking at her with emotional blue eyes.

Annabelle looked at him shocked. She had never been confronted with questions like this…what was he getting at? She could feel her skin growing cold and her heart beating oddly.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"I mean, everyone is different and everyone has their own good qualities so….is intelligence really the only thing that matters?" he asked taking a step toward her.

Annabelle was confused. She hated that. She hated not understanding things. She always wanted to be smart and on top of things and in control. This wasn't what she wanted; why was this boy invading her mind and tearing apart what she was familiar with? What right did he have?

Annabelle's face turned from confusion, to puzzled, and finally to anger.

"Are you questioning my way of thinking? How dare a fool like yourself suggest that I am incorrect! That's it! Until some brains materialize in that empty cranium of yours, you are never to approach me or converse with me!" Annabelle said harshly as she walked briskly out of the room.

Nathaniel stood there in silence; utterly confused by the situation. What did he do wrong? Why was she so tense? She was but six years old, so why not be merry and have fun?

"I'm not good at big words…I don't even know what she said." Nathan said frowning. "Ummm…wait up Annabelle!"

He rushed up to her as quickly as possible and snatched her arm.

"Annabelle…" he panted, out of breath.

"Don't touch me! I thought I just told you that you are not to converse with me!" Annabelle growled.

"But…I don't know what that means…" Nathan said somewhat fearfully. She was being so harsh it was scaring him.

"Ugh, I shall put it in lay man's terms then." She said irritably.

"Wh-what does that mean?" he asked frowning.

"It means that I'm going to tell you what I mean in a way that an idiot can understand!" she barked, making Nathan gasp and jump backwards.

"I was saying earlier that you are a complete idiot and that I am NOT going to talk to you until you get smarter! BECAUSE YOU'RE STUPID!" Annabelle boomed.

She huffed and heaved, her face red with frustration. Then her eyes widened in confusion….Nathaniel's eyes began to water.

"Y-you're….you're mean….." Nathaniel said just above a whisper, hanging his head to let his hair cover his eyes.

"What?" she asked.

"You're a meanie!" Nathaniel shouted, with his head snapping up and tears pouring down his cheeks. "I thought you were just a little rude but you're mean! You're mean! You're a big meanie! You only care about yourself! I just wanted to be your friend because I thought you might be nice! But you're a mean little brat! Y-you're never gonna have friends being so mean!" the little priest sobbed before running away screaming with tears.

Annabelle's eyes filled with sadness as they followed after him…she felt her insides aching…and she was confused.

"I'm…mean?" she said to herself. "Mean….." she repeated quietly as she made her way to the infirmary.

She walked in with a sad look on her face; a huge contrast to the joy everyone else was experiencing. Marie saw her daughter's sadness first.

"Sweetheart, what's wrong?" Marie asked, crouching to put her hands on her daughter's shoulders.

"I am…confused…" she said absentmindedly.

Everyone looked at her oddly.

"Confused? Where's Nathaniel?" Marie said gently.

"He ran away crying." Annabelle answered simply.

"My brother ran away? Why?" Mariko asked in a panic.

"All I did was tell him that he was stupid and that I didn't want to talk to him until he was smarter…I was being honest." Annabelle said looking up at her mother.

"Annabelle!" Marie exclaimed, obviously embarrassed and shocked at her child's behavior.

"You said that to my little brother? Why? How could you?" Mariko sobbed before running out of the room.

"Mariko, wait up!" Caden shouted chasing after her.

"Man Annabelle….that's low….he must be feeling pretty bad right now. He wants to be a counselor when he gets older…he must feel like he failed at being your friend." Zeke said sadly.

"A counselor? Not a meister?" Annabelle asked, feeling a painful pang in her heart.

"Yeah, so way to be a brat!" Naomi said harshly.

"He said I'll never have friends….if I act so mean…" Annabelle said slowly.

"He's damn right about that!" Naomi shouted.

"Hey, Naomi…take it easy…she's still just a little girl." Freya said placing a hand on Naomi's shoulder.

"Father…intelligence is so important. You are brilliant. If others were as smart as you, the world would be a better place. Isn't that correct thinking?" Annabelle asked, standing before her father.

He shook his head, causing Annabelle to feel another pang in her chest.

"Everyone is different, Annabelle. That means everyone has different gifts…and you need to apologize to that boy." Stein told her firmly.

Annabelle frowned and walked out of the room weakly.

What were these pangs in her chest? What were these new sensations she was having? What could she do to make them stop? These odd aches and thoughts were painful and there was something scratching at the back of her brain and heart. It hurt her head and chest. How could she make it stop? It had to stop!

She gripped her head painfully, and whimpered a bit.

"S-so many voices in my head….so much noise….it hurts…" she choked under her breath.

_Shhhh ignore those feelings Annabelle….._ a cold voice called in her head.

"Who's there?" she asked.

_I can help you get rid of the noise Annabelle…you see it's that Nathaniel. The things you are feeling right now are because of him. He's actually a poison master…he has planted something in your brain Annabelle…you'll soon become unintelligent like the rest of the world._ The cruel male voice said smoothly.

"I don't want that!" Annabelle cried.

_The noise in your head and pain in your body will only be cured when you destroy him…destroy Nathaniel Law and your suffering will end. The world doesn't need a fool like him….destroy it….destroy him!_

"Destroy him…" Annabelle breathed. "Destroy him!" she said throwing her head back and letting out a ragged laugh.

_Good…now that you have the resolve….go find him…_

With another choked laugh, Annabelle raced forward. Her pupils were shrunk down, her eyes wide, and her mouth fixed in a large toothy smile.

_Good girl Annabelle….good girl…._

(A/N: Woah! The calm and collected Annabelle is tripping out! More chapters soon! And as usual, reviews make me smile!)


	9. Troubled Souls

"I hope little sis is gonna be ok…" Ezekiel said.

"If she gets in trouble it's her own damn fault." Naomi said rolling her eyes. "She was a super brat…damn…but hey Zeke. Not that I care or anything, but you and your brother said you were going to measure your um…stuff..in the bathroom. You both ran out right away but then before I even knew it, you guys were back in the room. I didn't even see you guys come in! That's sorta impossible."

"We're ninjas." Zeke said grinning. "And the reason it didn't take very long was because we didn't go to the bathroom!"

There was an epic silence.

"Hm?" Naomi questioned.

"The bathroom was way down the hall and we didn't feel like walking all the way there, so we just stepped outside the door and whipped em' out!" Zeke said proudly.

Everyone was in complete shock.

"YOU PULLED YOUR PANTS DOWN IN THE HALL?" Naomi cried.

"Hey I'm a man and proud of it. I don't see any reason to hide my package. I'd walk around naked if it was legal. Oh and by the way! Wanna hear something reeeeeeaaaally coooooooool? Me and bro have the same size wieners! Even are balls are the same sizes! Haha maybe me and bro should phone Death the Kid and tell him about our symmetrical anatomy!" Zeke said excitedly.

Freya's face was lit up madly and James had to hold her shoulders to keep her from falling over in embarrassment.

"Ezekiel, you're grounded for two months." Stein said dimly.

"Awww come on dad!...wait…DAD! I have a question!" Zeke said running up to his father eagerly.

"What is it now?" Stein asked, beginning to lose a bit of patience with his son's antics.

"I have a boner; what should I do?" Ezekiel said with a straight face.

Everyone fell over.

"Ezekiel, you're being rude. That's another 2 weeks you'll be grounded, and no cookies for a month." Stein said sternly.

"Awww…" Zeke pouted.

"Um…excuse me?" a girlie voice said from the doorway.

Everyone turned to see a beautiful red haired girl with bright green eyes standing somewhat shyly in the hall.

"Um, is there something wrong Cree?" Freya asked, recognizing the girl.

The girl's face turned as red as her hair as she fished a small card out of her pocket and presented it to Ezekiel. Naomi scoffed at the sight.

This was by no means uncommon. Ezekiel and Caden Stein were the two most popular boys in the academy. Their good looks, hilarious antics, and charming personalities made them irresistible to everyone them met; especially girls. Girls came to the twins almost every day, offering candies, cards, cutesy compliments, and anything else to get their attention. The twins were different from most popular boys however. They were always very polite, happy, and grateful for the gifts and attention they received. They joked about their fame as if it were their life, but in reality they were very much humble when they received a special gift.

When girls came forward they usually thanked them shortly. They didn't over thank them, as not to give any of the girls a false hope in a relationship. They didn't blow them off either because they found that rude and inappropriate. The twins were very kind hearted, and were definitely loyal to their partners.

"So..I know you've probably heard this one before, but…I'm really a big fan of yours Ezekiel…so I just wanted to give you this card…a-and I think you should have won the tournament!" Cree said.

"Thank you Miss Cree. I will remember you kindness." Ezekiel said taking the card with a polite smile.

"Um…th-there's more though Ezekiel…" Cree said bashfully. "If you could open your card…."

Ezekiel looked mildly confused but soon complied and opened the card delicately. Opening the pink card his eyes widened at what he saw. Naomi saw the action and attempted to snatch the card from him, but to no avail.

"Hey, what's that say?" Naomi half growled.

Ezekiel ignored her question and took a step toward Cree, making her look slightly fearful.

"Don't be scared…" Ezekiel said, trying to sooth her high strung nerves.

"S-so will you…be my boyfriend?" she said wringing her hands furiously.

Everyone was in complete shock. Now THIS was uncommon. The twins had many admirers, but NONE of them had dared to ask them out….

"Well, don't sugarcoat it Zeke. Tell her strait up." Naomi said folding her arms in front of her chest, with an annoyed expression.

Naomi's agitated expression, contorted into one of confusion and…worry? She watched her weapon partner gently clasp the redhead's forearm.

"Miss Cree Rosche…tell me something. First, tell me why you like me so much." Ezekiel said seriously, but not rudely.

"Because, you're handsome, strong, funny, unique, loyal, reliable, and kindhearted." Cree answered.

"Ok. But now, more importantly….tell me how you can tell me apart from my twin, and why you like me more than him…and if I don't like your answer…then it's a no from me." Zeke said a bit darkly.

When the twins are not around their meisters, it can be very difficult to tell them apart. Only those that knew them very closely could tell which one was which.

"Because, your eyes sparkle differently than your brother's….you're a bit more hyper, impulsive, and loudmouthed. You tend to take more risks than him as well….and you show a boldness that I haven't seen in your brother. Your laugh is more childish as well…" Cree said happily, and full of meaning. She wasn't your average fangirl.

There was a long, intense pause.

"Well, go on Zeke; let's just end it quick." Naomi said shrugging.

"Miss Cree….I will….think about it." Zeke said with a sincere tender smile.

Everyone's mouth dropped open.

"WHAT?" Naomi boomed.

Cree looked overjoyed. "Oh thank you! I'll be waiting for your answer!" the red haired girl chirped, running out the door.

There was another long pause; this one was full of anger though.

"Why did you give her that false hope, Zeke?" Naomi growled, seizing his shoulders.

"It wasn't false…I really plan to think about it." Zeke said looking away from his partner.

"Y-you're kidding…right?" Naomi said trying to smirk.

"No, I mean it. Cree seems like she really appreciates me…and she has a good reputation." Zeke said placing a finger under his chin.

Naomi was taken aback.

"That's just stupid." Naomi grumbled, placing her hands on her hips.

"What's so stupid about me wanting a girlfriend, Naomi?" Ezekiel asked angrily. This was new…Zeke never spoke angrily to her.

"She…you…you don't even know her!" Naomi managed to get out.

"Come on you two…th-that's enough…" Freya said, trying to settle things down before they became serious.

"Come on Freya; just knock it off with the 'I'm a nice girl' stuff!" Naomi snarled, causing the blonde meister to stagger backwards.

"Hey! Don't talk to my princess that way!" James barked.

"Don't tell ME what to do!" Naomi shouted back.

"That's enough, all of you!" Marie finally shouted.

Everyone focused their attention on an irritated Marie.

"No, more of that…honestly…" Marie sighed.

Zeke, wordlessly walked out of the room. This was going to be one hell of a cluster fuck…

"I'm going to look for Annabelle…" Stein announced quietly. "She's been gone for too long…"

"I'll go with you!" Marie said, following after her husband.

With that Stein and Marie left as well, leaving Freya, James, and Naomi behind.

"James…I'm happy that we won but…I'm kind of scared now because th-the next opponents w-we face will b-be even stronger!" Freya cried.

"The teams left to fight are me and you, Jezebel and Ravana, Caden and Mariko, Hana Juku and her partner Hara Juku, and a few others that haven't been decided yet because their matches are still going on. We're going to do great Freya; don't be scared." James said holding Freya gently.

Naomi growled at the sight.

"How about getting a room you two!" Naomi shouted angrily.

"Huh? Naomi, what's wrong with you?" James asked.

"Man, how stupid can you two get? Just rubbing your pitiful little romance in other's faces!" Naomi snarled.

Freya's eyes began to water.

"N-Naomi…why are you being s-so mean?" Freya stammered.

"Oh shut it! All you ever do is cry like a baby!" Naomi growled.

James had had it.

"Don't take your anger out on your own friends Naomi! Just because you're angry doesn't mean you get to act like a jerk! If you're so jealous of Ezekiel then go settle it!" James said taking a step toward the golden-brown eyed meister.

"I'm NOT jealous! He can date ten girls at once for all I care!" Naomi screamed before storming out.

James and Freya were left to stare after her in silence. Sure Naomi had always been a stubborn, prideful girl with a temper but this was…just mean. This was uncharacteristic of her. Her eyes flashed with hate instead of sarcasm, and her voice was full of bitterness.

"That was…n-not like the Naomi I'm friends with…" Freya whispered.

"Yeah…" James said, pulling his girl closer.

With Stein and Marie:

"Can you sense her wavelength anywhere?" Marie asked worriedly.

"Yes, she's close…but there's something strange about it." Stein said with his eyes narrowing.

"What do you mean?" Marie said.

"It seems confused and disturbed, almost as if it's at war with itself…" Stein said calmly.

In reality Stein was terrified on the inside…he knew that soul wavelength; he knew that feeling. It was all too familiar; the madness…could his daughter be suffering from the same thing he had in the past? No…no…not his daughter. Not his little Annabelle. God, he had dreaded this possibility. He prayed that it would never happen to any of his children. Freya, Caden, and Ezekiel were fine; in fact they were as far from madness as they could be. Annabelle, however, had always shown a deep love for science and original ideas and unique thinking, just as Stein did. This wasn't bad on its own, but then more things began to develop; darker interests. Annabelle wanted to cut things open; she wanted to dissect. It wasn't just curiosity either; it was deep willful interest, almost like a craving.

Marie, poor Marie, what could she do? Tell her six year old daughter that it was ok and hand her a scalpel? No…and in all honesty Stein didn't want to either. This development in his daughter frightened him; he didn't want her to go through what he had.

Stein was pulled from his thoughts by Marie's cry.

"Annabelle!" Marie said, noticing her daughter.

She was about to rush up to her, when Stein extended an arm to hold her back.

"What?" Marie said looking at her husband.

Stein's eyes narrowed.

"Something's wrong….stay here Marie." Stein said, taking slow steps toward his daughter.

She was crouched next to a tree with her knees up to her chest, facing it and letting her forehead press against the bark. Every now and then she would knock her head against the bark….over and over again.

"Annabelle, what are you doing here?" Stein asked as calmly as possible, kneeling next to his daughter. She hid her face and continued hitting her head against the tree.

"Stop that." Stein said, taking his daughter by the shoulders and turning her to face him.

She let her head hang down so that her bangs covered her eyes.

"Annabelle, you need to tell me what's wrong." Stein commanded.

There was a long pause, where nothing could be heard but Annabelle's raged breathing. Her almost white, silver hair was tousled and her clothes looked as though she had been pulling at them. She finally spoke.

"The noise won't go away father….so much noise…." Annabelle breathed; Stein's eyes widened.

"Listen to me, Annabelle, you HAVE to fight it. Do you understand?" Stein said gripping her shoulders tighter; Marie watched in fear.

"The voice in my head says there's a way to make it stop….." Annabelle said ignoring Stein's question. She tapped her head with her index finger.

A voice? What voice? Who was inside her head?

"Annabelle, what voice? Do you know who it is?" Stein asked seriously. "If you do, you need to tell me right away."

"Don't know his name….but he…understaaaandssssss me….." Annabelle said letting her head roll to the side.

"I know that he seems right, but he's wrong Annabelle. Whatever he's telling you is wrong!" Stein said trying to shake his daughter back into reality.

"The noise started buzzing louder after that stupid boy said those stupid things to me…that Nathaniel…..but the voice told me that I can cure the noise….by….by…BY CUTTING HIM OPEN NOW!" Annabelle cried throwing her head back with a smile and maniacal laughter.

Stein hated this….it was terrible. Marie's eye went wide as she gasped. Stein did the only thing he could think of. He pulled his arm back as far as it would go and brought it back fast and hard toward Annabelle's face.

THWAP!

The sound of Stein's slap across her cheek seemed to echo for an eternity. Stein allowed one tear to slip from his eye.

Annabelle suddenly looked at her father, with sane eyes once more.

"F-father…" she stammered fearfully. Then tears formed in her golden eyes.

"Don't let me go crazy!" she cried, throwing her arms around her father.

Stein wrapped his arms around her and placed a hand on top of her head.

"Shh…I won't…I won't…" he said trying to comfort the terrified girl.

Marie rushed over and wrapped her arms around her daughter as well.

"M-m-mother…" Annabelle sobbed, noticing her mother's presence.

"It's ok…" Marie whispered lovingly.

But no; it wasn't ok. What was going to happen now? What were they supposed to do; lock their daughter away? Perhaps Marie's healing wavelength could help, but for how long? Was the madness in Annabelle going to be different from how it was in Stein? So many questions. And who was this voice? Who was this bastard invading a little girl's head?

_Annabelle…please…hang onto yourself. _Stein thought, tightening his arms around his daughter. _Hang on….please…_

(A/N: Woah! Annabelle is losing it and could this be the end for Ezekiel and Naomi? Seems their souls aren't resonating as they should be. Who's the voice inside Annabelle's head? Sorry for taking an eternity with the update everyone. More chapters coming soon and thank you for reading!)


	10. New Emotions

"So, did ya hear?"

"Yeah, Ezekiel Stein is dating Cree right?"

"Yep, that's what I heard."

"Huh, I thought he was going out with his partner, Naomi."

The words of various students hurt Naomi's ears…she couldn't focus or think. She acted angry on the outside but on the inside there was something wrong…something eating away at her. What? What was bothering her so much?

"Why is it bothering me so much that he's dating another girl…." Naomi sighed. "Ugh and Zeke and I used to be so close."

What was it about him? That soft, messy silver-grey hair, handsomely pale skin, and those gold eyes….all of it enchanted her very soul. The way he would laugh about the smallest of things and how he would look into her eyes when he spoke to her with such confidence…that charming smile that could be so compassionate or terribly mischievous. His golden eyes were lit with a glowing vivaciousness, curiosity, warmth, and adoration for fun and adventure.

Naomi slid down a wall outside of the school. "We used to get along so well….but now…I've just been more and more rude to him. No wonder he can't stand me…" she sighed.

Naomi remembered how they had first become partners….

Flashback:

"_So Naomi….who do you think you're going to get as a weapon?" Zeke asked curiously from a tree branch where he toyed with an apple in his hand._

_They had known each other since childhood, due to her father Ryota being close friends with Ezekiel's family. _

"_I don't know; I guess I don't care." She said, rolling over onto her side on the grassy ground below him. _

_Zeke smirked and chuckled mischievously before hopping down and throwing the apple at her head. _

_Naomi immediately shot up and caught the apple just in time. _

"_What the hell?" she shouted angrily. _

_Zeke simply crossed his arms and smiled. _

"_Your reflexes didn't save you…it was because you knew me well enough that you predicted I would do something like that. You were sorta ready for it. I knew that you would be ready to catch it….because I know you. I knew you'd respond by saying 'what the hell' too." Zeke said simply. _

"_So what the hell does that have to do with anything?" Naomi shouted. _

_Instead of answering, Zeke came up to her, smiled and placed both hands on her shoulders. _

"_Wanna be my meister?" he asked with a smile. "I'd really like it if you would."_

_The world went silent; for once Naomi didn't have an immediate answer. Finally after about a minute or two, Naomi finally answered. _

"_Sure…"_

End Flashback:

Naomi sighed for about the fiftieth time that day and groaned, running a hand through her short black hair.

"Naomi!" came Mariko's cheery voice.

"Oh, hey what's up?" Naomi said, trying to sound interested despite her depression. "You sound really happy, but didn't you lose your battle to advance today?"

"Oh hehe yeah I guess, but it's no problem! But get this; Freya and James are going up against Jezebel and Ravana!" Mariko said.

"What? You can't be serious! We have to stop her! She's gonna get killed!" Naomi shouted, standing up stiffly. "Are they going to start today? When's the match?"

Naomi could be a real pain in the ass sometimes, but she still cared for her friends deeply.

"In five minutes!" Mariko cried. "I-I can't be there though…" Mariko hung her head and grabbed her arm shyly.

"What the hell? Why not?" Naomi asked.

"Caden is hurt; I need to look after him…please be there for Freya and James for me will you?" Mariko said with a tender smile. She gave Naomi a quick hug before running off.

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

Annabelle was spending more time alone; the voice in her head had left her for now…

For some reason she found herself wanting to go apologize to Nathaniel, but at the same time she didn't want to because of her concerns over the madness she had just experienced.

She sat alone under a shady tree, sketching a picture of ballet shoes; yes ballet shoes. Her mother had her take lessons when she was four and her father had actually backed her mom on that; perhaps they had been trying to hinder whatever was happening to her now.

"Um…hey…" a shy male voice said softly.

Annabelle looked up to see the young priest once again.

"Nathaniel…" was all she said.

"Um…I wanted to say that I'm sorry for calling you a meanie and a brat…you're not always nice but…maybe you just don't know how…" Nathaniel said, offering a smile.

Annabelle's eyes widened and without her even realizing it; tears began to pour from her golden eyes.

"Hey…" Nathan comforted, kneeling down in front of her.

"I don't know how to deal with my emotions! I don't know how to use them or understand them! All I ever do is focus on my science! I like it but I know that I can't rely on that forever!" she sobbed. "And now I'm not good at being nice!"

"Who says you can't change!" Nathaniel said triumphantly.

Annabelle looked up at him with watery eyes to see him smiling at her.

"I wanna be a counselor some day you know. I guess I _could_ go to the academy but…hmmm I don't know yet." Nathan said rubbing the back of his blonde head nervously.

"Are you a meister?" Annabelle asked curiously.

"No; a weapon. I'm a guillotine blade! Pretty weird huh? My dad's cousin, was one too; he was even a death scythe!" Nathan said beaming.

"A guillotine…but you aren't sure about enrolling. And why not?" Annabelle inquired.

"Oh, because I like helping people and being nice; it's what I do best!" he laughed.

Annabelle found herself smiling a weak smile….she felt a light flutter in her chest that she hadn't felt in so long…it was a true warmth and happiness. He was really making her feel…special…there was just something about the way he spoke…she had judged him so harshly before. Perhaps she was the idiot. How could she have not seen the wonderful qualities in him before?

"That's…intriguing." Annabelle said.

"Um…what does that mean?" Nathan asked biting his lip.

"It means interesting. It means I think it's…um….I think it's cool and want to know more about it. It draws me in." she attempted to explain.

Nathaniel laughed and nodded in understanding.

"Any other dreams, Nathaniel?" Annabelle asked, now truly interested in the boy before her.

"Hm? Oh yes! I want to get married! After I become a counselor, I'm going to settle down and find myself a good wife! Maybe even retire early!" Nathan said enthusiastically; obviously enjoying his opportunity to share his future dreams.

Annabelle blinked a few times before cringing a bit.

"Um…married? You really think about that sort of thing already?" Annabelle asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes! I can't wait to get married!" he said happily.

_This boy….what kind of boy is this?_

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

Walking into the arena, Naomi felt herself utterly drained of all confidence. Ugh, why was she feeling like this?

She looked over and saw Ezekiel standing close to Cree whose arm was laced with his. Zeke apparently felt her gaze and looked over in her direction. Naomi blushed and immediately snapped her head around.

_I'm blushing? What the hell is with me? I've never done anything like this before. But….Zeke….I miss you….I miss being your meister…and your friend…._

"Freya, are you ready?" James asked happily, giving her an encouraging smile.

Freya nodded shyly, with some worry still evident in her eyes and on her face. She was actually quite scared and still insecure but she had much more confidence and faith in herself than she did in the very beginning.

"Hey freak! I'm going to destroy you today! I'm gonna gouge out that ugly red eye of yours and feed it to the dogs!...that is if they'll even eat it." Jezebel laughed.

Freya's eyes watered a bit, and an embarrassed blush crept onto her cheeks as she stared at her feet. James took her arm suddenly, making her gasp.

"Freya…you know better." James said narrowing her eyes at her with determination.

Freya nodded and gave James a smile before having him transform into his green bladed scythe form.

"A scrawny scythe and a weird little girl against me, the battle axe? It's almost too ridiculous…I'll have fun tearing them apart though." Ravana said smiling evilly before turning into weapon form.

Everyone watched on with intense anticipation; this was going to be a battle nobody would forget: underdog Freya against top weapon meister pair, Jezebel and Ravana….

"Come on Freya; go get her." Naomi growled.

This was it for Freya; her chance to either shine brighter than all of the stars or to fall back down into her "loser" image.

(A/N: Wow I feel like a total bitch for not updating this sooner. Life has been INSANE lately. I mean, I'm sure you get that a lot, but college shit has really been a pain lately and has slowed me down quite a bit. Also I've been working on other fics…so yeah, sorry for the delay on this. I'll try and update faster next time. Thanks for reading everyone! :D lol I've fallen in love with little Freya…)


	11. An Epic Battle: Freya's Hidden Power!

"How are you feeling, Freya?" James asked, still in weapon form.

"Um..f-fine…" she answered reluctantly.

James was about to speak again but was interrupted by Jezebel.

"Hey freak! I'm gonna be nice today! I'll give you the chance to give up before I kick your ass." Jezebel said smiling cruelly.

Freya's eyes widened and her head hung.

"Freya, don't listen to that. Hey can you hear me? Freya?" James said trying to get his meister's attention.

"I-I can't do this…I want to give up…sh-she'll beat me…" Freya whimpered.

"Freya…you can't be serious!" James cried.

"So you realized it huh? I'm the academy's best meister; NOT YOU! You've managed to luck out and make your way to the final round but now you realize that you don't stand a chance. I'm going to defeat you Freya. I'm going to crush you and make you wish you'd never made it to this round." Jezebel sneered.

Freya was frozen.

"What the hell is this crap?" Naomi growled to herself, clenching her teeth and fists.

"And on top of all that, Freya, you—" Jezebel was cut short.

"SHUT UP! That's enough! Freya! FREYA MARIE STEIN! Don't take this crap from her!" Naomi screamed from the upper floor.

Hushed gasps filled the audience as all eyes focused on the now heavily panting, red faced Naomi.

"You've put up with people walking all over you your whole life! You have a chance to make that different! Is this all you want out of life? WHY ARE YOU GIVING IN SO EASILY?" Naomi screamed, clenching her eyes shut…a single tear slid from one of her eyes.

Freya stared at Naomi with moist eyes before taking a deep breath and allowing her golden bangs to shield her eyes.

"Thank you Naomi, I'm sure we were all touched by your little pick-me-up." Jezebel laughed. "But it looks to me that it hasn't made a bit of difference in Freya's mind. A freak is still a freak and Freya is pathetic…"

"You're wrong." Freya said quietly.

"What?" Jezebel growled.

"I said you're wrong! I'm NOT pathetic!...I…I AM shy, but that doesn't mean I can't defeat you…I will beat you today, Jezebel. I'm going to become the top meister in the academy today…I won't let you control me anymore! I won't let my emotions be swayed by you anymore! I won't let you be my boss a day longer…..YOU DON'T DESERVE IT!" Freya shouted with her eyebrows knit in determination.

"You little…." Jezebel began.

"Jezebel, relaaaax. We have plenty of time to beat her up for disrespecting us." Ravana cooed.

"Enough now." The referee called. "If both teams are ready….BEGIN."

Jezebel didn't hesitate to charge up to Freya; but Freya was ready. Jezebel jumped into the air and swung her axe down to hit Freya, but was blocked by James's blade.

"Freya, something is wrong here!" James called.

Freya was confused but her eyes widened as she saw the image in front of her melt away.

"An illusion!" Freya cried.

She whipped around but it was too late; she was hit.

Freya flew across the arena with a high pitched scream.

After lying on the ground crumpled up, she managed to sit up but clutched her side in pain. Lifting her shirt, she saw a giant bowling ball sized bruise with bloody punctures inside it, on her side.

Freya didn't understand how a battle axe could do that…but then she looked up and understood.

"N-no way…" Freya stammered.

"That's right. My Ravana has more than one weapon form. While the illusory version of myself distracted you, I had him transform into his mace ball and chain form. How does it feel Freya?" Jezebel said, walking toward Freya torturously slow.

"It…it doesn't hurt!" Freya screamed, standing back up. She bit her lip to hold back a cry of pain.

"Oh? Well then how about this…" Jezebel purred as she raced toward Freya.

Freya lifted James to swing him at Jezebel but the pain in her side stalled her, giving Jezebel the time to kick Freya in the jaw, sending her flying upward.

Jezebel laughed cruelly and jumped into the air swiftly above Freya and pulled her arm back.

"Here's the part where you lose….SOUL FORCE! JEZEBEL LIGHTNING SURGE!" Jezebel cried, punching Freya in the chest.

Freya screamed and blood shot from her mouth as a purple bolt of lightning surge through her chest and shot out the other side of her body out of her back. She flew into the ground at full force.

There was a deafening crash….the crumbling of debris…then silence.

A cloud of dust surrounded where Freya was, so she couldn't be seen.

Jezebel stood in front of the audience proudly and laughed when she saw the variety of looks she was given.

Terror, fear, sadness, anger, shock, worry….those were just a few of the expressions that were visible. Whispers, sobs, and sniffles filled the room as well.

Finally the dust cleared, revealing Freya's body crushed into the cement. James was back in human form, unconscious a few feet away from her….

"How pathetic…all talk and no action…this was even less than I expected." Jezebel said scornfully.

"Freya!" Zeke called in terror. "Sh-she's…she's not…c-come on sis…COME ON SIS! Is that all you've got! Damnit! You can do better than this!" he sobbed.

"Give it up." Jezebel said smiling, as Ravana changed back to human form.

"She can't here you now." Ravana said coolly.

Before Zeke could bite back, a tiny crumbling sound could be heard.

Jezebel's eyes widened and her mouth dropped open as she saw, Freya stagger to her feet, breathing heavily and raggedly.

"I'm…not…finished…" Freya panted, stepping forward weakly.

"Give me a break; you can barely stand." Jezebel said.

The something happened….Jezebel's eyes widened in terror and Ravana took a step back in shock.

Everyone else in the audience gasped, even Zeke.

Freya looked up darkly with her red wine colored eye now glowing.

"What…." Jezebel choked out.

Suddenly Freya screamed and ran forward as fast as she could.

To make up for his meister's shocked stupor, Ravana charged forward to confront Freya alone.

"GET OUT OF MY WAAAAAAAY!" Freya shrieked, pulling a fist back and smashing it into Ravana's face.

Ravana cried out in pain and flew backwards.

"Ravana! NOW!" Jezebel cried.

Ravana understood and transformed in mid-air and landed into Jezebel's hand perfectly.

"That's it! I'll kill you!" Jezebel cried.

Freya froze in the middle of the stadium, unmoving. James in the meanwhile just started waking up. He looked up to see Freya standing alone in the middle of the stadium….with Jezebel holding the axe above Freya about to swing it down!

"Freyaaaaa!" James screamed.

Just before the axe blade could make contact with her skull, Freya reached her hands up to grasp both sides of the blade.

Jezebel growled and pressed forward even harder, trying to cut Freya. In response, Freya only dug in her feet more.

"Now it's my turn…Jezebel." Freya breathed.

Pressing her palms against Ravana's blade even more firmly, Freya cried out loudly and sent a surge of red electric charge from one hand and green charge from another hand, into Ravana's blade.

Ravana was immediately shocked back into human form screaming uncontrollably; he flew backwards and was knocked unconscious.

Jezebel also suffered Freya's blow, as Freya's attack had moved through Ravana to her. Jezebel shrieked in pain and fell to the ground unconscious…

Silence….

Wordlessly, Freya walked back over to James, stood there for a moment before extending her hand to him with a smile; her eye was back to normal.

"See? I said I would defeat her…and so did you." Freya said happily.

The crowd roared with cheers, whistles, claps, and sobs. Rather than taking Freya's hand, James shot to his feet and threw his arms around Freya and pulled her close. He cried.

"Freya….Freya….are you ok?" he whispered. "You did so well…"

"Yeah…I'm fine…" she whispered back.

"The winners of the dueling tournament are FREYA STEIN AND JAMES ROSENTHAL!" Maka announced proudly. In truth, Maka was so happy that Freya had won. Freya was her favorite student; her shyness reminded her so much of Crona, and she wanted nothing more than to see her blossom and gain confidence in herself….and also she just hated Jezebel.

Naomi laughed and literally jumped from the second floor to run and hug her friends.

"You did it! You did it! You guys are number one! You're the best in the academy!" Naomi shouted happily...and a few tears fell from the tough girl's eyes.

"Naomi…" Freya breathed.

"What? Can't a girl cry a bit?" Naomi said, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"Sis!" Zeke called running up to her with tear filled golden eyes.

After more hugs were exchanged, the group of friends made their way out of the stadium, away from all of the noise and distractions.

They went to the first place they could think of; the unused classroom; their hideout.

After everyone was settled, James spoke up. "Freya, I didn't know you could do that technique you used back there…"

"Yeah, that was beyond kick ass! Why haven't you done that before?" Naomi asked.

"Because…I didn't know I could…" Freya said blushing.

"Huh? You mean you had a power you didn't even know about?" Zeke asked.

"I…guess…" Freya said. "I don't really know what happened to me back there…"

More silence.

"Naomi." Zeke said firmly, standing to his feet. "can I talk with you in private?"

Naomi raised an eyebrow and blinked a few times before shrugging and following him out the door.

Just before Zeke could make it out the door, Cree caught his arm and looked at him pleadingly.

Zeke gulped and simply walked out with Naomi.

"So, what's up?" Naomi asked, placing her hands on her hips now that the rest of the group was out of earshot.

"I wanted to talk to you about our partnership….Naomi I—" Zeke began.

"It's ok…" Naomi said; Zeke blinked a few times in confusion. "I understand…I mean why wouldn't you want to get rid of a girl like me? All I ever do is yell at you…I suck as a partner…and a friend."

"N-Naomi! You can't be serious! I…I would never get rid of you as my meister!" Zeke cried, grasping her shoulders.

Naomi blushed, much to her own embarrassment…but those gold eyes were just so…beautiful…and that pale skin….

"Then wha—"

"Naomi, I'm NOT dating Cree; that's a rumor. I don't want her to be my partner…." Zeke said slowly.

"Then why were you with her?" Naomi asked.

"Because I was….hoping to make you jealous…" Zeke said, somewhat ashamedly.

Naomi stared at him with wide eyes.

"All those times I flirted with you…and those times I told you, you were gorgeous….and how I told you I wanted to be your boyfriend…those WEREN'T jokes. I wasn't kidding EVER. I meant it every single time! But no matter how many times I said those things, you would think I was just playing or flirting for fun and you would get angry! I didn't know how I could possibly convince you of my feelings!" Zeke cried.

"Feelings….?" Naomi breathed, becoming tense at the close proximity of Ezekiel to her.

"I'm in love with you Naomi Marakawa." Ezekiel said. "and that's no joke."

Naomi fell backwards onto her butt and pressed one hand to the side of her head in response

"N-Naomi?" Ezekiel stammered worriedly, as he knelt by her side.

Naomi finally realized it. She finally realized why she had been such an emotional wreck around him lately and why she had become more aggressive with him…it was feelings…feelings that were changing inside her…

_I'm not angry at Ezekiel…he wasn't annoying me…it was…it was my emotions and heart getting stirred up inside…because I was falling in love with him! I didn't want to admit it to myself but it's true. I'm in love with Ezekiel! _

"Naomi!" Ezekiel shouted, grabbing her shoulders, finally shaking her from her trance.

"Ezekiel…." She whispered.

"Um…you ok? I didn't think it was gonna freak you out that much…but if it's messing with your mind then I'm sorry. Just don't worry about it. Don't want you to go nuts like my weird dad." Ezekiel said smiling somewhat sadly. He stood up and began to walk away.

He gasped however when he felt something run up behind him. Turning around he was greeted by Naomi flinging her arms around his neck and holding him tightly as she cried.

_Naomi…crying?_ Ezekiel thought.

"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry Ezekiel! I've been so rotten to you because I was a wreck on the inside! I was getting all stubborn!" she sobbed.

"Well I already knew about the stubbornness issues…so tell me what's new." Zeke said smiling and tilting her head up.

"I….I'm in love with your crazy ass…" she said smiling.

"Well you're in big trouble then." Zeke said narrowing his eyes.

Naomi looked confused and frightened at the same time; what went wrong?

"Because now I'm gonna want to kiss you all the time!" Ezekiel laughed.

Naomi growled and tried to punch him in the shoulder, but he caught her hand, making her blush.

"You're cute when you're angry…and as for the kissing, I guess I'll try and hold off….after this one." Zeke said.

"What do you mean this one—."

Naomi's eyes went wide and her back stiffened as she felt Ezekiel's soft lips connect with hers. Soon enough though, her instincts as well as her love for him, took over as she began kissing him back.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him more purposefully, making him smile against her lips and kiss her back that much more intensely.

Finally after some time, they pulled apart and looked at each other smirking greatly.

"You're not a bad kisser…for your first time." Zeke said winking.

"Shut up you idiot. This was your first kiss too." Naomi said punching his arm a bit.

The two laughed lightly, but their joy was interrupted by a girly dramatic cry.

"E-Ezekiel Stein….I thought what we had was special!" Cree cried loudly.

Ezekiel's eye twitched nervously and Naomi rolled her eyes.

"He never asked you out and besides, you don't know a damn thing about him. I'm his partner so I know him best. Go find another guy to cling on because this one is mine!" Naomi said proudly with a smirk. She couldn't help it; she was pumped to be Zeke's girl.

"Why I never!" Cree cried running away.

"Um…I feel a bit bad." Zeke said rubbing the back of his head.

"She'll get over it. What do you want to bet, she finds a new "true love" tomorrow?" Naomi said smirking.

Ezekiel smiled at her and took her hand.

"Let's go back ok? They're gonna want to know what's up." Ezekiel said. Naomi nodded.

A lot had happened that day….but it was only the beginning….

(A/N: Yay! Freya kicked ass and Jezebel the bitch lost epically! On top of that our stubborn tough gal Naomi and her mischievous partner Zeke have gotten together! But life isn't worry free, so there's sure to be more problems! Thank you everyone for reading and for all the wonderful reviews! More chapters will be coming up soon!)


	12. The Voice Returns

"Freya, we need to get you to the infirmary; you're still bleeding!" James said firmly.

"Uhnnnn but I don't want to." Freya said weakly.

"Why?" Ezekiel asked.

"Because Jezebel and Ravana will be there…" she said softly.

"Screw that! If they even think to mess with you, I'll knock them back unconscious!" Naomi said, holding up a fist.

Freya giggled.

"That's my girlfriend! She's way kickass!" Ezekiel said proudly.

"What?" James and Freya asked together.

"Uh, yeah…we kinda just got together." Naomi said rubbing the back of her head.

James and Freya looked to Ezekiel next, who shrugged with a smug look on his face.

"What can I say? I'm just too good to resist." He said jokingly, which earned him a punch in the arm from his girlfriend.

"Enough of that; let's get Freya some help." Naomi said.

James nodded and scooped his girlfriend up, causing her to blush with embarrassment.

"Freya!" a voice cried as they approached the infirmary.

Looking up, the group of four could see Marie running toward them with tears in her eye.

"Hey mommy…" Freya said weakly.

"Excuse me for a second." Marie said smiling at James before taking Freya into her arms. "You had me so worried! I thought I was gonna die! You gave me a heart attack!" Marie sobbed.

"Mommy…I need to lie down…" Freya said, still managing to smile.

Marie gasped. "Freya, you're bleeding!"

"Duh! That's why we brought her here!" Naomi said, rolling her eyes.

With that, the group brought in Freya to lie down in a bed. Just as she was getting comfortable….

"Sis!" came Caden's voice as he raced up to her bed and jumped on top of her. "Hey! I'm all better now! See! See! Oh my gosh, I heard you won! That's my sis! I knew you could do it! WOOT!"

Freya coughed in choked as Caden's weight began to crush her.

"Caden! You're hurting her!" Mariko cried worriedly.

Caden's eyes widened and he immediately jumped off. "Oh…um….sorry sis!"

"I-it's ok…" Freya whispered. Her eyes widened when a certain person came into the room. "Daddy….."

He walked up to her quietly and sat down next to her; she stared at him intently with her dual colored eyes.

"I….." she began.

She couldn't finish as her father wrapped his arms around her very gently as not to hurt her.

"You won….good job…" he said softly, not wanting to say too much; she needed her rest.

"Yeah….so…daddy…do you think I can become as good of a meister as you?" Freya asked with a sleepy smile.

He placed a hand on top of her blonde head gently. "Of course…"

With those words, Freya fell asleep.

….

"Um…just thought everyone might like to know that I have a girlfriend now!" Zeke shouted, trying to dilute the thickening awkwardness.

"Ezekiel!" Marie cried with a heart shaped eye. "Did you finally ask out Naomi?"

"Yep! She totally loves me!" Zeke said proudly.

"Can it you loon…" Naomi said rolling her eyes. "I like you but don't push your luck or I'll dump you."

"YOU CAN'T DO THAT!" Zeke sobbed.

"Well you finally got a girlfriend, bro." Caden said patting his twin's shoulder.

"What's that supposed to mean? You don't have a girlfriend either." Zeke said, looking at his brother.

Caden smirked and looked back at Mariko who blushed and nodded.

Everyone raised their eyebrows suspiciously.

"Mariko and I have been dating for three months now." Caden said.

….?

"WHAT THE HELL BRO? AND I DIDN'T GET TO HEAR ABOUT IT! WHY?" Zeke shouted.

"All my children are in love! This is sooooo cute!" Marie cried happily.

"Well Mariko didn't want to rush everything; she wanted to lay low for a while…and because I respect my meister, I didn't push it. I decided to keep things quiet about us until we were both ready." Caden said looking back at his meister with a soft, charming smile….yes…it was that smile.

_That was the smile that brought Caden and I together…._ Mariko thought.

Flashback:

_Mariko sighed and twiddled the stem of a dandelion between her index finger and thumb before letting it go in the wind and watching the feathery white seeds float away…like miniature umbrellas…so delicate and weightless. _

"_Hey Mariko." A voice said suddenly. _

_Mariko gasped a bit from surprise and looked behind her to be face with a silver haired boy she knew all too well. _

"_Hello Caden." She said smiling a bit. _

_She had been friends with Caden since they were young. Her father had arranged Stein and Marie's wedding and her mother had been a nurse for Marie during much of her pregnancy. _

"_So what's got you upset?" Caden asked sitting down next to her with a smile. _

"_It's nothing…." She sighed. _

"_Still can't find someone that resonates well with you? It's sorta weird that you haven't been able to since you're so kind hearted and easy to get along with. You must have one heck of a soul wavelength!" Caden said grinning. _

_Mariko's head fell even more. "Today the boy I tried to resonate with spit up blood the minute I picked him up! It was a disaster! And then I tried to resonate with a really nice girl but it sent an electric shock through her!" Mariko hopelessly cried. _

_Silence….._

"_Mariko." Caden finally said. _

_She turned to him sadly and her eyes widened as she saw him extend his arms wide with a big toothy grin on his face. _

"_How about a hug?" he said. _

…_.._

_Finally Mariko sobbed and jumped into his arms. He rubbed her back with a soft expression on his face as he comforted her. After some time, her sobs turned into soft sniffs and she finally pulled away. She was surprised to see him beaming down at her. _

"_I felt something special when you hugged me, Mariko." Caden said, pulling her to her feet along with him. "So…do ya wanna try and see if we can match soul wavelengths? Please say you will." _

_Mariko's lavender eyes widened as she stared at him in surprise. "O-ok…" she said finally, extending a hand. _

"_Alright then!" Caden said enthusiastically as he transformed into his hammer weapon form. _

_Mariko pinched her eyes shut in dread as she felt Caden fall into her grasp…it was going to happen again…another screw up._

…_..?_

_She felt…at peace. This feeling was so strong and made her feel safe and protected but also warm and serene. This was...a match. This was the weapon she had been waiting for; she needed him. _

_Before she could speak, Caden transformed back into human form and smiled at her. _

"_Well how about that? Think that'll do?" he asked, placing a hand on her shoulder. _

"_Y-yes! That is…if you want to be my weapon." She said, wringing her hands. _

"_Of course I do! Why would I try resonating with you if I didn't? Actually I've been pretty darn jealous of all the other people you tried to work with." Caden said smirking. _

"_Caden….." she said softly. _

"_How could it not work? I'm the amazing Caden Ryota Stein! I'm good looking, kick ass, and am just damn cool! It takes a lot to level up with me!" he said crossing his arms and lifting his head. _

"_Hehe I see…you are rather amazing." she said smiling. _

"…_hey Mariko. Because you're my meister now, how about I tell you a secret." Caden said. _

"_Um…ok." She said unsurely. _

_Caden smiled at her greatly and narrowed his golden eyes at her tenderly. That smile was just so charming and intriguing….and those eyes so full of energy and confidence, but also compassion. Caden leaned in close to her and put his lips up to her ear. "You're the coolest person I've ever met…and the prettiest girl. Lucky me that I get to have you as my meister." He whispered, before pecking her cheek and taking off. _

_Mariko was frozen except for her one hand that reached up to cup her cheek where Caden had kissed her; it almost burned…._

"_Caden….you are…so cool." Mariko breathed before laying down on the grass happily. _

_She had a partner….and a true friend. _

End Flashback:

"So Caden was just being a gentleman; sorry it took so long to tell you guys." Mariko said cutely.

"Well dad, all of your kids are dating now." Zeke said smirking at his father.

Stein just shook his head; what was he going to do with these guys?

"That makes us infinitely cooler than you dad! You didn't get a girl till waaaaaaaaaaaay later!" Zeke and Caden laughed together.

Stein was about to answer but a voice interrupted.

"Stupids…." A voice croaked.

It was Jezebel; she was sitting up in bed now.

"You think you're so cool because Freya won by luck? I was just going easy…" Jezebel said scornfully.

"Screw that!" Naomi shouted jumping in front of her. "You lost and you know it! Freya's better than you so just accept it!"

"You're so stupid…" Jezebel laughed.

Naomi was about to punch Jezebel when a younger voice interrupted.

"I'd say you're the foolish one, Jezebel." Said Annabelle, coming in between Naomi and the wicked meister.

"Who the hell are you?" Jezebel growled.

"Annabelle Ellie Stein. Six years of age and the most intelligent and precocious child I know of. You ma'am are a fool who is jealous of all those around her and to uplift yourself you criticize all other individuals. My sister, for example, is lovely, petite, and strong. You've made a fool of her for all these years but in reality you were envious were you not? She has always had more friends than you and has come from a good family. Perhaps you chose to take advantage of Freya's shy nature; using your insults to hinder her emotional, cognitive, and physical development. Unfortunately there is only so much a simple minded individual like yourself can accomplish. You failed….or perhaps if I should put things more casually…GET A LIFE." Annabelle fired off before walking away to kiss her sister's hand and then retreat from the room entirely.

Jezebel's mouth was gaping. She was basically just told off by a six year old….

"Wow….go little sis!" the twins said in unison.

….

Annabelle walked down the hall a ways but soon froze in her steps and gripped her head on either side.

_Annabelle…are you ready to show the world your superiority yet? Follow my lead Annabelle; listen to me….with you in charge, the world will grow and lose its ignorance….and you will be able to dissect everything you desire. Wouldn't it be nice to cut open…any human you wanted? Perhaps we should start with…Nathaniel Law._


	13. Annabelle's Trust and Freya's Wavering?

"Freya, are you sure you're well enough to be walking around?" James asked his meister worriedly.

"Mm hm!" she said smiling.

"I'm so glad…" he said, taking her hand.

Freya instantly blushed. "People…are watching us."

"Hey don't worry Freya." James said as they continued to walk toward the academy.

"AAAAAGGGH!" Ezekiel shouted. "Why the hell do annoying things like exams even have to exist? I mean, we just got done with this tournament thing and now there's an exam in three days! Damnit! Maka is so cruel!"

"Oh get over it." Naomi said rolling her eyes. "You have no reason to be complaining. Freya was the one fighting super hard…you're just lazy."

"Ugh, I don't really want to do this either…" Caden moaned.

"Nobody wants to, but it's something we have to do!" Mariko said, trying to cheer her boyfriend and weapon up. "And Caden, PLEASE study this time! You and Ezekiel have failed the last three tests."

"No sweat Mariko. I'm gonna pass with flying colors this time!" Caden said giving his girlfriend a thumbs up.

Just as the group made it to the academy's steps, a boy with messy brown hair dashed toward them.

"Hey Freya-chan!" the boy said, rushing up to her.

"Um…Milo isn't it?" Freya asked sweetly. "Do you…need anything?"

"Well, actually yes. I was watching you fight and I just…will you be my girlfriend?" the ice blue eyed boy begged.

Before Freya could answer, another boy ran up to her and pushed Milo aside.

"Screw yourself man!" he shouted at Milo. "Freya Stein, it's a pleasure. Martin Craven is my name. So wanna date?" he asked bluntly.

"I-I.." Freya stammered.

She was terrified when at least 20 other boys confronted her with dating proposals. They were shouting, fighting each other cursing, and tugging her back and forth.

"ENOOOOOOUGH!" Naomi finally screamed, bringing everyone's attention to her. "Listen up dick-sucks! Freya's already got a man! Now get the hell out! You don't even know her and you're scaring the shit outta her! You ever touch her again and I'll kick your ass!"

All the boys went wide eyed and immediately ran away.

"Damn." Naomi scoffed.

"You are so hot when you yell like that…" Ezekiel swooned, attempting to draw her into a kiss which she immediately rejected with a punch.

"Th-thank you Naomi…" Freya said still trying to recover.

Naomi laughed, walked up to Freya, and patted her shoulder a bit. "Hey come on; it's no sweat. I'm your friend remember!" Naomi said.

**XxXxXxXx Two Days Later xXxXxXxX**

"What the hell do you mean, you didn't study?" Naomi growled at her partner.

"Oh come on! I have a whole day to study! It's noooo big deal." Ezekiel said lazily.

"Yeah right! You sit on your ass half the day and then spend the other half mixing up trouble!" she bit back.

"Oh come on you two…" Mariko sighed. "Caden, would you like to study at my house tonight?" she asked sweetly.

"Sure! As long as you'll make me some of your awesome sugar cookies!" the gun weapon replied.

"Hey Freya, let's study in that special clearing in the woods. It's pretty there and we won't have any distractions." James suggested to his shy girlfriend.

Freya blushed. "O-ok…"

"Hey Naomi, are you gonna help me study?" Zeke said nudging her.

"No way in hell, Stein boy." She grumbled.

Zeke fell over dramatically before shooting back up to his feet. "Why?"

"I have enough to worry about. I'm not gonna try and teach your sorry ass." She replied.

"How cruel of you Naomi!" Ezekiel and Caden cried in unison.

"Oh enough of this; let's split off and study." Mariko suggested.

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

Annabelle sat in the corner of her dark room breathing raggedly and occasionally laughing to herself as the mysterious male voice continued to ring in her mind.

_You want to dissect don't you Annabelle? Why not do it?_

"Because I'll lose my mind." Annabelle breathed.

_If you keep this up, your suffering will just continue…the time is now Annabelle…it's time to become who you truly are. Don't deny yourself a day longer!_

"Annabelle?" a tender child voice asked, flicking on the lights.

Annabelle's head shot up. "Nathaniel…" she said softly.

"Why on earth are you in the corner?" the young priest cried.

"It makes me feel secure…safe." She said with closed eyes.

"Well no more of that, ok? Come on, let's go outside! The apple trees on the edge of town are beautiful and the fruit is ripe. Help me pick some; ok?" he said enthusiastically.

"And why would I do that?" Annabelle questioned.

"Because it will be fun." Nathaniel answered simply.

Annabelle stared at him blankly for a moment.

"Are you trying to understand you feelings again?" Nathaniel asked; Annabelle simply hung her head, still crouched in the corner.

Nathaniel smiled and squatted next to her smiling. "It's ok; alright? You don't need to understand everything…let's go. I promise you'll be fine." Nathaniel comforted, placing a hand on Annabelle's shoulder.

She looked at him with lost eyes but finally nodded. There was something about that touch that had an almost healing quality about it.

"That's great! I'm so glad. You know, I really like you Annabelle." Nathaniel said, taking one of her hands and helping her up onto her feet.

"Thank you…" she said finally.

Suddenly Nathaniel's attention was drawn to a small white box with a pink bow around it; quite the contrast to the rest of the room's orderly and non-girly appearance.

"This is beautiful…" Nathaniel said picking it up gently. "What is it?"

Annabelle looked away and Nathaniel's eyes widened a bit when he saw something he had never seen before; Annabelle's pale cheeks were tinted pink.

He looked down at the box once more. What could be inside it that would embarrass her. Lifting the cover gently he was rather surprised at what he found.

"Toe shoes?" he asked with a smile. "You dance ballet! How long have you been dancing?"

"Two years…" she mumbled.

"Do you enjoy it?" he asked, taking a step closer to her.

"In a way. It calms me when my mind begins to slip…ummm…" Annabelle realized how odd her explanation sounded. "What I mean is that it helps me when I'm anxious."

"Oh, that's cool!" Nathaniel said.

Annabelle took an inward sigh of relief at Nathan's accepting nature and naivety.

"Annabelle, may I see you dance?" he asked kindly.

"Watch me dance…I'm not sure. I've never danced for anyone before." Annabelle said quietly.

"Never? That's a shame! I bet you're wonderful! Please show me after we pick the apples. Come one let's go!" Nathaniel said cheerfully.

Annabelle couldn't help but gasp when Nathaniel took her hand and practically dragged her outside.

What was it about this boy that made her heart pound? What about him made her feel so…human?

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

"Yahoo! I'm getting all the answers right so far! Thank you so much Mariko. You're supernaturally awesome." Caden said grinning and giving her a peck on the tip of her nose.

Mariko's face lit up dark red and she almost fell over from dizziness.

"Hey hey, watch yourself…" Caden said holding her shoulders gently. "Do you need to lie down?"

Mariko shook her head.

"No, I think you do…come on now." Caden said picking the magenta-pink haired girl up; she yelped in surprise as he laid her down on her bed and covered her up. "I'll tuck you in…"

"Um…you don't really have to…" she said shyly.

"I want to. As your weapon, friend, and boyfriend, I am supposed to take care of you. And of course…I love you." Caden said smiling.

Mariko's head felt light once again at her boyfriend's words and charming smile.

"Thank you…I love you too." She said blushing.

"Really? I haven't heard you say that you…ya know…love me..in a while." Caden said, now forming a blush of his own.

"Of course I do!" she cried. "I wouldn't…let you kiss me on the cheeks and nose…and forehead….if I didn't love you." She said softly.

"I guess not." He said smiling.

Yes. They hadn't kissed on the lips yet, but Caden was in no rush; he wanted to be gentle with Mariko. She was a very confident young lady but she could be very shy and innocent when it came to their romance.

Suddenly Mariko sat up.

"Hey…easy." Caden said.

"Caden…" Mariko said quietly. "Would you…like to try kissing…on the lips?"

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

"Freya, how did you get so smart?" James asked, brushing a strand of hair out of his meister's face.

"Um…I'm not…th-that…" she stammered.

"You're at the top of our class." James beamed.

"Um…yes I know. Um…am I helping you enough? Are you understanding the material?" Freya asked tenderly.

"Of course." James assured her. "Freya…?"

"Um..yes…?" Freya managed to say despite her shyness. The way James was looking at her was so…deep. She felt as though she might faint.

"I was wondering if I could kiss you." James said smoothly.

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

"Naoooooomiiiii!" Ezekiel whined. "HELP ME STUUUUDY!"

"No! and get the hell off my leg!" Naomi growled as her boyfriend clung to her desperately.

"Pleeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaase!" he sobbed.

"Ugh….if you'll shut the hell up…." She finally groaned.

"Yes! Let's go to your house!" Ezekiel said enthusiastically.

In his glee he scooped his girlfriend up and began racing toward her home.

"Wh-what the hell? Put me down!" Naomi cried despite her blushing features.

Ezekiel simply laughed as if he didn't hear a word she said and continued on his way.

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

"You sure?" Caden asked his girlfriend gently.

"Yes…" she said softly.

"Just to be sure, you're not doing this for me are you? We don't have to kiss if you're not ready…" Caden comforted.

"But….I am ok…so um…" she said suddenly becoming shy.

Finally her lavender eyes became half lidded as she leaned toward her boyfriend. Caden closed his eyes and titled his head to the side in response. Their lips met perfectly, as if they were made for each other.

Caden carefully cradled one of her cheeks while holding her middle back with the other. Mariko's head was spinning….her first kiss was happening now! Unsure of what else to do, Mariko reached her two small hands up to rest on Caden's shoulders. She loved him so much; she really did. She could feel it by the way he was holding her….kissing her…the way their souls met…yes he loved her too!

Now her lungs were burning furiously….oh she needed to breath! Finally the two pulled apart and looked away from one another shyly.

"Um…wow…" was all Mariko could say.

Caden laughed at Mariko's words and hugged her tightly. "Yeah…wow…" he said stroking her long, silky magenta hair.

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

"These apples are delicious!" Nathaniel exclaimed, taking another bite out of his third apple in a row. Suddenly his smile turned into a concerned frown when he looked over at Annabelle.

"Annabelle, aren't you going to eat your apple?" Nathaniel asked worriedly.

Annabelle didn't answer and continued to roll the ripened fruit around in her hands.

"Hey…what's wrong?" he asked gently, scooting towards Annabelle.

"Nothing…" she said after a few moments.

"Awwww hey miss grumpy…come on and tell me." Nathaniel urged with a childish voice.

"No." she said simply as she shifted away from him. In response Nathaniel only adjusted his position so he could sit in front of her again.

"Hey…it's ok…" he assured her.

"No! You wouldn't even have the slightest comprehension of the matter!" she shouted finally.

There was a long pause, before Nathaniel took one of her small pale, porcelain hands in his and smiled.

"Is that another way of saying I won't get it?" Nathaniel teased.

Annabelle managed to allow a half smile to grace her features but only for a moment.

"Please….please Anna…I want to help." Nathaniel urged. "I don't care what it is just tell me."

Finally after a long pause Annabelle hung her head and allowed her lovely whitish-silver locks to cover her lovely luminous golden orbs.

"Nathaniel….what would you do if…I wanted to kill you?" she said finally.

Nathaniel looked rather confused at her words. "But you wouldn't want something like that so…why are you asking?"

"How do you know I wouldn't want to kill you?" Annabelle asked sadly.

Another pause.

"Because…that's not how you are. You're not like that." He said gently.

"But that's where you're wrong!" Annabelle cried. "The voice in my head keeps begging me to kill you! It tells me EVERY SINGLE DAY! I can't get a moments rest because of the terrible screeching sound in my ears! It feels like they're itching and my brain hurts!"

Annabelle gripped both sides of her head almost painfully hard and a crazy smiled appeared on her face. She was practically crushing her skull in between her hands as tears and sweat rolled down her face.

"I-it's telling me now…again! It wants me to kill you again!" she cried menacingly.

That was enough.

"Anna, STOP IT!" Nathaniel shouted, seizing her shoulders aggressively.

Her face shot up and looked at him with shock and terror. Her eyes were wide and her pupils were dilated….

"Just…stop. Annabelle, you told me a voice is telling you to do this…don't you understand what that means?" Nathaniel said.

Annabelle could only stare at him and pant. She felt so drained just from a momentary surge of madness.

"It means that _you_ don't want to kill me. When you asked me that question earlier, you said "what if _**I**_ wanted to kill you"…but it sounds to me that someone else is telling you to…it's not your desire. You're too good to want that…" Nathaniel said pulling her against him…so gentle and loving. It felt like…he understood her.

The dam broke and Annabelle cried into his shoulder.

"You don't need to be afraid…you're safe as long as you're with me…I promise I won't let anyone hurt you." He whispered.

"B-but what if I hurt you?" she choked.

"I'll know that you didn't give into that voice without a fight; that's enough for me…" he comforted, pulling away to beam at her. "Now, you said that ballet relaxes you right?"

Nathaniel picked up the small white box and held it before her; she stared at it like it was some foreign object.

"So…why not dance for me?" Nathaniel said softly.

Annabelle only nodded and took the box from him. She laced up her shoes and stood elegantly. Nathaniel smiled and sat back with an eager expression on his face….she began to dance. It was beautiful…so precise but graceful. So tender and elegant….however it made him a tad….sad? Her dance was lovely but seemed to be filled with sadness and suffering…

_Is this how you're always feeling on the inside Annabelle? If so…then you must be so strong not to show it…_

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

"W-wh-why?" Freya stammered.

"I'm sorry, Freya. Agh, I'm so stupid." James said smacking the side of his head.

"N-no! I just meant…why do you want to kiss me?" Freya said shyly.

"Because…I love you." James said, cupping one of her cheeks.

Freya blushed and couldn't help but smile.

"Hehe…ok." She said finally.

"Freya…I was wondering though….before I kiss you…." James began.

"Yes?" Freya asked.

"How do you feel about me? I just…I mean…I've never heard you say that you love me. You've said that I'm nice and that you like me but…I just feel like there's something left out…do you love me?" James asked.

Freya was frozen with wide eyes; she hadn't expected this question at all….what was she supposed to say….

(A/N: Freya has a fan club of guys here, there's a big test coming up, and Annabelle is going through some tough times! While Ezekiel and Caden's relationships continue to grow, it looks like Freya's is becoming shaky. Does Freya really love James or is she just going along with his feelings for her? More coming soon! :D )


	14. Annabelle's Missing!

Freya looked at the person next to her with a frown; James….

Yesterday had been a disaster to say the least…she couldn't say how she felt. What the hell? Even her insensitive sister Annabelle could say what was on her mind and sort things out pretty damn good. But when James had asked her how she felt about him….

Flashback:

"_So…how do you feel about me, Freya? I want to know." James asked softly, his eyes growing more and more tender by the second. _

"_I….I…" Freya began. 'Why can't I say anything?" she thought. _

"_Freya? Do you not love me?" James asked somewhat sadly. _

"_What? No, that's not it!" Freya cried quickly. _

"_Then what?" _

…_._

"_I….c-can you….let me think about it?" _

End Flashback:

Geez; what the hell kind of thing was that to say? Freya wondered to herself why she couldn't bring herself to say it and why her brain was scattered…why did her heart drop into her stomach and practically stop beating? And then her heart-rate rose almost painfully.

She was James's girlfriend; so why then was it that she couldn't tell him how she felt? She always said things like "you're so nice…" or "I like you, James…". But what good was that? Those aren't the same thing as saying "I love you." That's what she shouldn't said. But…she just felt so….ugh what was the word for how she felt?

Freya's thoughts were interrupted by her homeroom teacher, Maka, speaking up.

"Alright everyone; pay attention! I'm going to proctoring your exam today. I hope you've all been studying and not taking shortcuts. You don't learn by taking shortcuts. Also, I will not allow anyone to get away with cheating either. If I catch you cheating, talking to a neighbor, or trying to look at someone else's paper, you will be given an immediate zero." Maka announced.

Maka loved her students and she wanted them to do well…but she could not tolerate complete lack of motivation, which is why she was having quite a bit of trouble not jumping on the Stein twins for having failed so many tests.

"Hey Naomi." Ezekiel said quickly and with equal excitement.

"What? The test is about to start, retard!" she growled.

"Did ya know that Justin Law was the youngest guy ever to become a death scythe? At age 13!" Ezekiel said, his gold eyes flashing with intensity.

"Well yeah…why does that matter right now?" Naomi said dully.

"Naomi, I want to break the record. I want you to turn me into a death scythe before my thirteenth birthday next year!"

"Um…what? Ezekiel…that gives us like 3 months and we've only collected 45 kishin souls! That means we have 54 more kishin souls AND a witch soul! There's no way we can do that! It took us 5 months just to get the 45 souls…"

"I don't care! Come on, Naomi…you're kickass! We can do this; count on it!" Ezekiel said giving his girlfriend a thumbs up.

Before Naomi could respond, Maka spoke up again.

"Alright, everyone quiet down! Everyone try their best. You'll have 60 minutes; you can start working now!" Maka called.

And with that the race was on; people began working at top speed, trying to get the 45 question test out of the way as fast as possible….except for Ezekiel who was staring at a yellow crayon like it would do summersaults.

Freya was disappointed in herself. She was doing well but she just wasn't working as quickly and efficiently as she wanted to. She was distracted; she couldn't get out of her sensorial fog from the incident with her boyfriend.

James appeared to be working slower than usual; who could blame him? His girlfriend; the person he loved more than anyone or anything, couldn't verify for him that she indeed loved him.

Mariko was smiling throughout the test; ah the ever positive Mariko. When she wasn't writing, Naomi was clenching her black ink pen between her teeth almost to the point of it breaking.

Ezekiel was now rolling his yellow crayon back and forth over his desk and giggling about it every now and then.

His twin on the other hand was actually trying to do his test. He looked stressed but under control as well. That was the main difference between the twins; Caden could be much more serious than Ezekiel, when need be.

"I'm finished!" Ezekiel cried out of nowhere after about 5 minutes.

"What?" Naomi cried, flinging her head over along with almost the entire class to look at Ezekiel.

"Lookie! Lookie!" Ezekiel said pointing at a paper giraffe. "This is in honor of Patty Thompson for buying me an awesome stuffed giraffe when I was a baby!"

Finally having had enough of the distractions, Maka threw a book across the room, hitting Ezekiel square in the forehead, leaving a book shaped dent in it.

Freya groaned and began working again. As she was working, she felt something bounce off the top of her head and land on the desk in front of her. Turning around with a confused expression, she saw Jezebel smirking at her. Freya opened her note slowly and looked at a rough sketch of Jezebel holding hands with James. It made her want to cry…but it also made her feel furious. Freya whipped around, with hot, sad, and angry tears in her dual colored eyes.

"Freya. Concentrate." James whispered next to her; obviously noticing her distraction.

Freya nodded lightly and continued her test…

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

_It's time Annabelle; time to dissect; time to kill. Nathaniel is stirring up emotions in inside you; emotions are what weaken your foundation and degrade your intelligence. Don't you see what he wants? He wants to weaken you because you're superior to him! _

"Nathaniel…is helping me…" Annabelle choked, as she grabbed both sides of her head. She clenched her eyes shut, making the already dark closet she was hiding in, even darker.

_Stop denying yourself. It's time to stop being someone you're not…these desires are a REAL part of you…and that's a good thing. The madness gives you strength, Annabelle…enforce it. Strengthen it. Use your madness….listen to what I'm telling you. The desire to dissect and dismember those around you is flowing through your veins. Nobody can erase it. Nobody can stop it! _

"Who are you anyway?...wh-who are you to tell me what I should do?" Annabelle panted with a crazed toothy grin.

_I am the one who will always be by your side….if what you seek is both intelligence and love…I am the one you seek. I will love you more deeply than anyone else can….I will give you my heart, Annabelle Ellie Stein…just surrender to your desires and you can have all you'll ever want and need. _

l

_It's easier than resisting this isn't it? How long will you keep battling your true self? Will you fight yourself until the day you die? Think of how long and terrible of a life it will be…Nathaniel isn't enough. I can give you freedom….Annabelle….please…let me help you…I promise I have no malice in this…I only want to free you…I don't want you to have to pic either love or madness. I want to give you both…_

Annabelle panted over and over….then silence….

"Who are you….? What is your name….?" Annabelle breathed.

_Ah…now we're getting somewhere. I'm glad to finally introduce myself to you formally, Miss Annabelle….my name is—_

**XxXxXxXxXxX The Next Day XxXxXxXxXxX**

"Mariko! I got a 79!" Caden said happily. This was the best he had gotten all year, so he was thrilled.

"I'm so proud of you, Caden!" Mariko said beaming and throwing her arms around him in a hug, making him blush deeply and laugh.

"What did you get bro?" Caden asked.

Ezekiel sniffed a few times and held a limp piece of yellow and brown paper out in front of him.

"Wow…zero whole points. Way to slay." Naomi grumbled. Ezekiel broke down crying.

"Why the hell are you crying when it's your own damn fault? Quit feelings sorry for yourself!" Naomi shouted.

"No that's not why I'm crying! It's because….y-you worked so hard on the studying with me even though you didn't want to and I…I failed anyway! I'm so sorry Naomi!" Ezekiel sobbed against his desk.

Naomi felt horrible and it was evident on her face…but soon she smiled and lifted up his head.

"You're stupid…but I love you." Naomi said gently before linking her lips with his.

Ezekiel's eyes went wide before he dramatically snatched his girlfriend up and dipped her down in a kiss.

Mariko blushed at the scene and decided to talk to Freya as a temporary distraction. "Um…so what did you get Freya?"

"I got a 105." Freya said softly "I did the extra credit."

Naomi broke away from the kiss just to shout at Freya about how she was too smart for her own good (much to Ezekiel's disappointment).

"So that makes you top of the class again, Freya! I got a an 80…and you got a 89 didn't you Mariko?" Naomi asked. Mariko nodded cutely.

"James? What about you, man?" asked Caden with a smile.

"Oh, I got a 91." James said, forcing a smile despite his depressed mood.

"Hey, move it freak!" Jezebel snarled, shoving Freya aside to look at the class rankings.

"Ugh you bitch! You got lucky this time you pathetic loser." Jezebel said, looking at her score being a 104…one point below Freya.

"Shut the hell up! What do you mean loser? You're the dumbass who lost the tournament and your dumbass partner wasn't even at school yesterday to take the godamn test!" Naomi shouted, stepping toward the bully sharply.

"She won that tournament by luck and don't you call Ravana and dumbass. Ravana told me he couldn't be here yesterday or today for some personal reasons. Ravana is wonderful weapon partner unlike SOME OTHERS that go to this academy." Jezebel said, allowing her eyes to flicker towards Ezekiel for a moment.

"OH! You DID NOT just insult my boyfriend! YOU BITCH!" Naomi screamed, her brown eyes flashed with fire and hatred as she talked the blackish-purple haired girl.

"Get off me you ugly flat-chested cow!" Jezebel screamed.

"Oh screw you, you fatass pig skank!" Naomi bit back while punching Jezebel in the face.

"Naomi, stop!" Ezekiel cried out; Naomi froze. "She's not worth it…." He finished.

Naomi growled at a now whimpering Jezebel and punched the ground hard right next to her head. "If you EVER say anything against my partner again…I won't hold back."

Jezebel made a pouting face before running away crying.

"Damn….what the hell?" Naomi said. "…flat chested…" she finished, looking down and cupping her barely noticeable (or in reality, just barely there) breasts.

"Don't listen to that crap…" Ezekiel said, coming up behind his meister and wrapping his arms around her. "You're beautiful; much prettier than her. You're the prettiest girl in the world to me…"

Naomi smiled and cupped one of Ezekiel's arms. "You suck; you're actually making me feel embarrassed." Naomi said half-joking. Ezekiel laughed.

"I guess….I should go home." Freya said slowly. "See you guys tomorrow…"

Freya walked away slowly and weakly…

"Geez…what the hell?" Naomi said, looking at her friend with a cocked eyebrow.

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

Freya sighed as she opened the door to her home; she was still feeling like hell over the James thing….and she still hadn't told him how she felt! Her worries about herself dissipated completely, however, when she opened the door to her home and heard uncontrollable sobbing.

"Mommy?" Freya panicked as she rushed up to Marie who was collapsed on her knees with Stein comforting her. "What's wrong mom? Are you hurt?"

Marie looked up desperately with red puffy eyes. "Freya, have you seen your sister?" Marie cried, grabbing her daughter's shoulders. "Nathaniel hasn't seen her! Nobody has seen her!"

"I…I haven't seen her…" Freya said softly. Marie sobbed even harder.

"Sh-she left a note saying that she's gone! She said that she's going to be with somebody else now!" Marie managed to say through her tears.

"Wh-what?" Freya choked.

"HELLO EVERYONE WE'RE HOOOOOME!" the twins called before laughing…then they noticed.

"What's going on?" Caden asked the twins asked together rushing forward.

"Boys, have you seen Annabelle today?" Stein asked seriously.

"No." Caden answered.

"Why?" Ezekiel asked.

"Because she's gone missing. She left a note saying that she's with someone else now…" Stein said, his eyes narrowing.

"Who?" Ezekiel asked angrily.

"We aren't sure on that…." Nathaniel said sadly.

"Nathaniel? What are you doing here?" Freya asked calmly.

"I'm Annabelle's friend! I wanted to help if I could….oh! Mr. Stein, I don't know if it means much to you but…your daughter was describing "voices" inside her head….she said that they wanted her to kill me…could it be that the voice is a real person! Do you think she's gone with them?" Nathaniel said in a whirl. He was obviously terrified by this.

A hand flew over Marie's mouth. All she could think about was how Stein was lost….with…_that woman_. Medusa….

While the family discussed where Annabelle might be, why she had left, and who she went with, Freya ran out the back door in tears. She just kept running and running; she eventually wound up in the forest. This was too much. Why…why was she in such an emotional wreck?

"I…I'm so useless….I'm not a good meister! Jezebel…m-maybe she was right…I won by luck…I don't belong there…a-at that school!" Freya sobbed into her hands as she fell to the ground. "And now my sister is gone…and I can't do anything. Nothing. And I'm ugly with my two stupid eyes! And…and now I've hurt James's feelings! I hurt James's feelings so bad even though I love him!" Freya screamed. Her hands flew over her mouth when she realized what the last three words she said were.

"I…I love him….I love him…I love him…" Freya repeated, experimenting with the phrase. "I love James….I have to tell him! I have to go tell him right now!"

Just as Freya whipped around and began to run, she ran into something and fell over. It was a familiar feeling….something she'd run into before. No…_someone_ she'd run into before. Cold, rough, hard, empty, cruel, and evil….she looked up.

"R-Ravana? Wh-what a-are you d-doing here?" Freya stammered. Even if she had defeated him in battle, he still terrified her to no end. He was a scary guy!

He flashed a shark tooth grin at Freya as his eyes lit up with evil and lust. "I've come here to get you, Freya Marie Stein….my beautiful bride. My Freya Marie Egregion…" Ravana breathed.

"Wh-wha-b-but you hate me!" Freya stammered as she began to push herself backwards. Ravana simply advanced on her.

"No….I don't. I think you're….beautiful." he whispered, kneeling in front of her. "That bitch Jezebel can go screw herself. I don't need her. You're the one I want. The one I've been waiting for! She was the perfect tool to get close to you…" he said cupping on of Freya's cheeks.

Freya screamed and attempted to back up but found that her back was braced against a tree. She looked at him horror struck.

"J-Jezebel might not have been nice to me but…that's just horrible of you to use her like that! Meisters and their weapons are supposed to trust each other and care about one another!" Freya cried with tears forming in her lovely eyes.

"Freya….want to know a secret?" Ravana exhaled in her ear, causing Freya to shiver in fright.

He leaned back and right before her eyes, transformed into an older version of himself. Freya gasped.

"I'm actually 19 my Freya….aaaah pretending I was 14 and advanced for my age was so damn easy…" he whispered.

"Why? Why did you infiltrate the academy?" Freya asked shakily.

"Shhh….all in due time my love…" Ravana said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a needle.

"Wh-what is that stuff?" Freya screamed. Ravana just laughed. Freya fearfully lunged forward and attempted to use her soul force but Ravana simply pushed her down and shoved the needle into the side of her neck.

"N-no….help…help….James…..help me…" Freya coughed before finally blacking out.

Freya's small body laid limp in Ravana's arms as he disappeared in a dark glow of light…

(A/N: WOW haha well actually something cool about this is the name "Ravana" is the name of a demon king in Hindu mythology. In the story, Ravana kidnaps king Ranma's wife Sita. So lol it kinda fits here! Annabelle is still missing too! Gasp! Hehe more coming soon! :D )


	15. Rescuing the Two Lost Sisters

"So Freya is gone now too?" Naomi asked, looking at her partner sadly. He nodded, obviously fighting tears. Naomi closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around her boyfriend. "Wanna cry about it?" she asked giving him a casual smile. Ezekiel froze for some time but soon burst into hysterical sobs…

On the other side of the academy, Mariko was with Caden.

"So, it was yesterday?" Mariko said softly. Her eyes watered; her best friend was missing along with Annabelle!

"Yeah, sis got upset about Annabelle and took off out the back door…she never came back. We looked and looked but we never found her…" Caden sighed.

"Caden…umm…don't worry! I'm sure they'll be found!" Mariko said trying to cheer the silver haired boy up.

Caden managed to smile at her despite his sadness. "Yes…they will be found…by US." Caden said looking at her with dead seriousness.

"U-us? Caden, I'd love to but we don't even know where to start!" Mariko cried.

"Then we'll find a place to start! I am NOT going to sit here while my sisters are in trouble!" Caden shouted, getting a bit too close to Mariko's face. Her expression turned to one of fear.

"Mariko….I'm sorry…" Caden said, realizing his mistake; he collapsed onto his bottom and ran his hands through his silver hair.

"It's ok…you're a good brother trying to look out for his sisters…" Mariko whispered, massaging his shoulders.

"But I do want to help….really…." he breathed, leaning against Mariko.

At the very top of the academy, James sat perfectly alone, covered in tears.

"Why did I leave her side? If I had been there, Freya wouldn't be gone! I was too worried about my own feelings…I…I love Freya. I should have been there for her….." he whispered to himself. He closed his red puffy eyes…

"JAMES! CADEN! MARIKO! NAOMI! EZEKIEL!" screeched a young male voice.

James's eyes shot open and he looked down to see a small dot running up the steps to the academy; even from afar he knew who that was.

"Nathaniel!" James cried, rushing through the academy to get to where Nathaniel was.

On the way there, he bumped into the others.

"Did you see him too?" James asked the group.

"We heard his annoying ass voice before we even saw him." Naomi grumbled.

"There you are!" Nathaniel cried. "H-hey I wanted to ask you guys something!"

"What is it? Something that can help us? Tell me!" Caden shouted.

"I was going to ask you….was anyone absent on the day of your exam?" Nathaniel asked kindly.

…? ….? …?

"What the hell? You made us think it was something important!" Caden shouted, shoving the child over.

"Caden!" Mariko cried, placing her arms around him. "Shhh…"

"Ugh…damn…I'm sorry Nathaniel." Caden said, helping the blonde boy up. "But why do you need to know?"

"I think someone from the academy might be the cause." Nathaniel said, much to everyone's shock.

"Th-that's crazy!" Ezekiel cried.

"Not completely. Don't forget that my father's cousin, Justin Law, betrayed the academy…it is possible. And the witch Medusa infiltrated the academy at one time." Nathaniel said.

"So…Ravana…." James said with his eyes widening.

It hit everyone else at the same time too. Ravana! He was a complete creep!

"Ravana was gone yesterday too!" Ezekiel exclaimed. "It must have been him!"

"Ok, great…now how do we track him?" Naomi said, placing her hands on her hips.

"Track who?" came a cruel voice from behind the group.

Ravana.

"You evil-!" Caden began, but Mariko's hands flew over his mouth and she pulled him back. Naomi did the same with Ezekiel.

"What's wrong with all of you? What's got you so feisty?" Ravana asked half-joking.

"We were looking for Miss Maka. We can't seem to find her." James said smoothly.

"I see….well…I have to be on my way." Ravana said coolly.

Everyone looked on as Ravana walked away.

"Think he's going back to his creepy lair or something?" Ezekiel said, raising a brow.

"He has been acting rather strange." James said.

"Would all of you stop talking! Let's follow him!" Caden said as he began to take off.

"Caden, wait!" Mariko cried catching his arm.

"What?" he asked.

"I was just wondering if…maybe we should get your parents? They're probably more equipped than us in the skills area…" Mariko said, trying to formulate a good plan.

"No, we need to go NOW…and I…I want to be the big brother for Annabelle! Me and Ezekiel never got to help her in our entire lives because she was always too damn smart! Now we can actually do something! We can't rely on our parents forever! It's time to go!" Caden shouted.

Everyone looked on for a moment before finally nodding.

"Oh, I'm going to!" Nathaniel cried.

"What? Nathaniel, you can't. You aren't even trained to fight at all and you're well…eight." James said.

"I don't care! Trained or not, I'm still a weapon…and…I'm Annabelle's friend!" Nathaniel said, his brows angling down with determination.

"Fine, have it your way…" Naomi grumbled. "But I think I'm going to bring up something nobody has yet…WE DON'T EVEN KNOW WHERE HE IS!"

"Ravana may be a creep but he doesn't have exceptional wealth or something. I doubt he has his own little hideout. Just at his house I would think." James said, scrunching his eyebrows in thought.

"Great, now where is that Sherlock?" Naomi growled.

"I know!" came a nasally voice from behind the group.

"Oh hello there Dorcas." Mariko said with a smile, while everyone else stifled a laugh at the name. "You know where his house is? How?"

"One day he told me he wanted to hang out and be friends so he told me to go to his house. When I got there he beat me up and kicked me out…" Dorcas said, frowning at the memory.

"Ok, now tell us where he is!" Caden shouted.

"Oh…um…he lives a few miles west outside the city in the desert. It's a big place though so you won't miss it. He lives alone too…doesn't have parents." Dorcas explained.

"Alright then, are we ready to go?" the twins said together.

"Yeah." Replied the group.

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx**

"Let me out!" Freya screamed desperately, clinging to the bars of her cell.

"Awwwww poor baby…" Ravana cooed, walking up to her cell.

"I hate you! Let me OUT!" Freya screeched, as she began kicking the walls of the confined area.

"Shh…now now…that's no way to talk to your future husband." Ravana said smoothly.

"I will NEVER marry you…you pig!" Freya cried, spitting on his face.

Ravana bit back an attack on her and smiled instead. "Now Freya…you shouldn't use that sort of vocabulary here. It would be a bad influence on your little sister."

"My sister? Do you…where is she!" Freya said, banging on the bars of her cell.

"Calm down…she's right here." Ravana said. "Annabelle!" he called.

Freya's eyes widened as she saw her younger sister, head drooped, walking toward them almost like a zombie.

"Annabelle!" Freya cried. Annabelle stood still.

"Wh-what are you doing? Why aren't you running away? Annabelle! Anna!" Freya screamed with tears in her eyes.

"Sister…why don't you listen to what he says?" Annabelle said almost mechanically.

"Wh-what?" Freya stammered.

"Just listen to Ravana and all your problems will go away….." Annabelle droned.

"Annabelle! Listen to me! Anna!" Freya pleaded as she watched her sister walking away.

"Annabelle obeys ME now…" Ravana said cruelly.

"What do you want with her?" Freya demanded.

…..Ravana smiled the most horrible grin Freya had ever seen.

"Isn't it obvious? I'm going to eat her soul." Ravana said simply.

Freya's eyes grew huge and her pupils shrunk in terror. "N-no…ANNABELLE! HE'S GOING TO KILL YOU! HE WANTS TO EAT YOUR SOUL! RUUUUUN!"

"She can't hear you…she listens to me now…and Freya…you look so pretty in that white dress…" Ravana purred.

"I hate it! I hate you! I want to go home! Let me out! Let Annabelle go! Why do you even want to marry me anyway? Not to mention you're 7 years older than me!" Freya screamed. She was wearing a simply white sundress….just something to be a makeshift gown.

Ravana just smiled.

"Fine! Then why do you want to eat Annabelle's soul? And where are your parents anyway? Don't they have something to say about this? " Freya asked angrily.

"Because it's powerful….the soul of a child born from a legendary meister and a death scythe…those are the genetics for a wonderful soul there but beyond that, her soul looks quite tasty….she has an especially delectable one." Ravana said liking his lips. "As for my parents…hehe…I ate their souls…ahhh my first taste of such amazing power."

"You make me sick!" Freya screamed, sticking her left arm through the bars to try and punch him. Ravana smirked and caught her wrist. He deftly shoved a ring on her wedding finger.

"You creep!" Freya screamed, pulling her hand back and attempting to tug the ring off; it wouldn't budge.

"It will never come off Freya…I have my own band to go with it. Once I put this on my finger, our souls will be linked together for all time. I'll have constant access to your soul's power….over the years I will probably devour you by over using your soul's energy but oh well. And in the meantime…you will never be able to match soul wavelengths with anyone else again." Ravana said smiling cruelly.

"No! I don't want to!" Freya sobbed.

"Too bad…and you know…I have a feeling your friends and brothers are on to me. When they arrive, I'm going to eat their souls as well…ah how I can't wait to eat the souls of your brothers especially. They are idiots to be sure, but they have strong souls…those will be great." Ravana said in a sadistically dreamy tone.

Freya broke down into more uncontrollable sobs. "Please let me go…please…and my sister too…please!"

"Sorry, but that will never do. I'm going to keep you here forever my Freya…you're mine…"

"Hell no she's not!" shouted a voice from the side.

"Ah, here comes your rescue party." Ravana said.

"RAVANAAAAA!" Caden screamed, lunging forward.

"Caden, wait! You need me to fight!" Mariko cried.

Caden jumped from the ground to the second story where Ravana was and swung at him with his now weapon transformed arm.

"Oh the hammer weapon.…is that all?" Ravana said coolly, transforming into his nineteen year old form.

Ravana barely had to do a thing. He simply extended an arm and caught Caden's attack. Then with the other hand, now transformed into an axe blade…he sliced Caden all the way from his right thigh to his left shoulder. Caden immediately shrieked as blood spilled from the wound.

"CADEN!" Mariko screamed.

Caden went limp. "Awww do you want him? Have him." Ravana growled, throwing the unmoving Caden at Mariko.

"No! Caden! Caden!" Mariko sobbed, lifting up her weapon's lifeless frame. "C-Caden…are you still with me?"

No answer.

"No!...no…please come back!" Mariko wailed.

"Caden…" Ezekiel choked between clenched teeth. "Naomi…help me."

"Right." She said, grasping Ezekiel's pistol form. "Hey Ravana, better give up now before I kick your ass!"

"You won't even be able to put a scratch on me." Ravana said.

"Like hell! You're wide open for attack you dumbass!" Naomi snarled.

"You wouldn't attack me…with her in front." Ravana said, showing his shark-like teeth.

"What?" Ezekiel said.

"Annabelle…come here won't you?" Ravana called.

Annabelle emerged from the shadows, and stood in front of Ravana.

"Annabelle!" Ezekiel called.

"She can't hear you. She obeys _me_ now." Ravana said.

"You bastard! I'm going to kill you for sure!" Naomi shouted.

"Naomi, I want to save Annabelle…" Nathaniel said suddenly.

"What?" she asked, completely confused.

"James, go to Freya…I will take care of Annabelle. Naomi and Ezekiel, you fight Ravana." Nathaniel instructed.

"Fine." Naomi smirked.

With that Naomi lunged for Ravana and fired a shot at his head.

"You're going to attack anyway? Very well, I need Annabelle safe so I can eat her soul anyway…" Ravana purred.

"You sicko! I'm gonna take your soul before you get a chance to snack on anyone's!" Naomi shouted as she lunged forward, firing more shots at Ravana.

He dodged most but finally…one hit his arm and he shrieked in pain.

"Yeah, that hurt didn't it?" Naomi laughed.

While Naomi and Ravana continued to fight, Nathaniel made his way toward Annabelle…finally he made it over to her.

"Anna…hey Anna? Can you hear me?" he whispered, touching her shoulder.

"Nathaniel…you shouldn't touch me…if you stay here…I might dissect you." Annabelle breathed.

"What? Annabelle, come on!" Nathaniel said, shaking her.

In response Annabelle turned to him, and wrapped her arms around him.

"Annabelle…." He said softly, hugging her back…until.

"A-Anna…" he choked as he felt something sharp stab into his back.

"See…I told you, I'd cut you open." She said grinning madly.

Instead of pushing her away, Nathaniel held her even tighter. "You're in for a surprise Annabelle…" he whispered. "You remember how I healed all of those people in the infirmary don't you? I have a very special wavelength…..I'll use it on you now…because I care for you." With that, Nathaniel's body glowed that pure icy-blue once again and surrounded Annabelle's body with it as well.

In Annabelle's Mind:

_I don't even know where I am….I think I heard someone call my name a while ago but I'm not sure…I don't really know what's going on. What do I want? Ravana said he could help me but I don't feel like I'm being helped! I just want the voices in my head to go away. The sound of fingernails on a black-board that keeps ringing in my ears….I want it to stop! It's driving me mad! I don't know what to do anymore! Why can't I be normal like everyone else? Is Ravana right? Will I not be satisfied until I have killed someone? When will I be able to live like a normal girl…? What if I never get better? I just…maybe I should just die!_

"_No….don't die." Called a pure male voice. _

"_It's…you…" Annabelle breathed, suddenly face with a pure, glowing Nathaniel. _

"_Yes…but what's my name?" Nathaniel asked with a smile. _

_Annabelle just stared at him. _

"_Come on now. You're the smartest girl ever right? Surely you can tell me something as simple as what my name is." Nathaniel joked. _

"_You are….N-." she fell short. _

"_That's right…go on." He gently encouraged. _

"_Na…Nath…Nathan…iel…" she finished, falling to her knees. "Help me…" she begged. _

"_Sh…that's why I'm here. I'm going to help…but you need to work with me…you have to try." He whispered, stroking her hair. _

"_I will." She said. _

"_Promise?" he asked tenderly. _

"_Yes!" she cried. _

"_Then…pinky promise…" he said softly, holding out his pinky finger to her. _

_Slowly but surely she linked her tiny finger with his. At that moment, her soul felt like it was being wiped clean. Like a purifying water had washed over a tumor of pain and suffering in her heart, and swept it away. _

_She had never felt so clean…so safe…so warm…secure…SANE…in her entire life. _

Exit Annabelle's Mind:

She fell against him with tears streaming down her face. "Nathaniel…I want to go…back to my house…" she breathed.

Nathaniel chuckled and hugged her tightly. "I'll take you back….just a little longer ok?"

Annabelle nodded against his shoulder.

"Damnit! Annabelle!" Ravana called.

"She's not yours anymore!" Naomi screamed, blasting Ravana in the hip.

Ravana snarled and transformed on arm into a mace ball and chain and threw it while Naomi was in mid-air, shattering the bones in her arm; she dropped Ezekiel and screamed in pain.

"Naomi!" Ezekiel shouted, as he began to rush toward his meister. Unfortunately he was intercepted by Ravana.

"Try one of my smoke bombs!" Ravana shouted, throwing the bomb in Ezekiel's direction.

It burst into a mixture of yellowish-green gas….right into Ezekiel's eyes. He screamed in pain and fell to the ground clutching his hands over his eyes.

"How pathetic…" Ravana muttered, walking away.

"Ezekiel!" Naomi called, rushing toward her partner despite her pain.

"Naomi…I can't see!" he cried in pain.

Ravana watched the entire scene with a smirk on his face.

He should have been looking elsewhere….

"Freya…" James breathed as he finally managed to pry open the bars of her prison.

"James…." She managed to say. She looked so weak.

"Freya! What's wrong?" James shouted, pulling the limp girl into his arms.

"So…tired…J-James…I want to tell you something." She said smiling.

"Shhh…don't talk." He said, stroking her cheek.

"I….wanted to tell you that I…I've always…I've always loved you." She said delicately as she laced her fingers with his.

"Freya…I love you so much." He said with tears escaping his luminescent green eyes.

He leaned down to press his lips to Freya's but…

"Don't do it." Ravana said darkly from behind the two.

James whirled around. "What do you want her for?" he growled.

Ravana smiled. "She's weak…because her soul's energy is being sapped as we speak."

"What are you talking about?" James asked with frustration. He wanted to know what the hell was going on here.

"The ring on Freya's finger…there's a matching band. Somebody needs to wear it in order to stabilize her wavelength…otherwise her energy is just being sapped. She needs someone else to make it whole and to share her soul's energy with." Ravana explained, as he pulled a ring out of his pocket and flashed it at James.

"That person will be me. Freya will be tied to me forever…she will never be able to resonate souls with anyone else; she will NEVER be your partner again." Ravana said wickedly.

"You…bastard.." James spat.

Ravana simply grinned and moved to put the ring on his finger but coughed and dropped it suddenly. He turned around slowly in painful jerks to see Annabelle stabbing a scalpel into his upper back.

"You said I should dissect something…would I be a bad girl if I chose that thing to be you?" Annabelle asked eerily before yanking the blade downward, slicing his entire back.

"YOU BITCH!" Ravana screamed in anger, agony, and pain, as he flung his arm back to send her flying across the room.

"I'll catch you Anna!" Nathaniel said dramatically; and he did. "I caught you bridal style! Does that mean we can get married when we grow up?"

Annabelle rolled her eyes, shoved him, and stood up. "Thanks but no thanks." She said firmly. "time to focus."

"My ring! My ring! Where the hell is it?" Ravana boomed, despite the pain and the blood that was pouring from his gaping wound.

His eyes widened when he saw that Freya and James had fled to the other side of the room…he could see what was happening.

"NO!" Ravana shouted, scrambling to his feet and attempting to get to the other side of the room.

"Freya…I know I said I'd make you my princess when we were eighteen, but it looks like we'll have to tie the knot a little sooner…hehe, sorry you're just twelve…so…think you still want to marry me?" James said, grasping her left hand delicately and holding the ring with his right.

"Yes…besides I'm sure it'll all work out in the end…it's not impossible for things to work. People can turn into weapons…if that's possible then this should work out just fine…I love you.." she breathed.

"I love you too…Freya Marie Rosenthal." James said warmly before sliding the ring on his own wedding ring finger just as Ravana's fingers were mere inches away from him.

There was a burst of warm light and surging energy as James and Freya's souls combined. The sweet yellow light bathed everyone in the room….

The light washed over Mariko and Caden; Caden's wound healed completely.

The light rained peace and comfort over Nathaniel and Annabelle…

Ezekiel's pain vanished and Naomi's bones were mended…

And Ravana cried shrilly in pain from the light's intensity.

A wavelength of love…pure love.

"Hey Freya, want to try witch hunter?" James asked calmly.

"But that technique is advanced!" she cried, looking into his eyes.

"So?" he said with a smile. Freya closed her eyes and returned his smile, and with that James transformed into weapon form.

"Soul resonance!" James and Freya cried together….they were ready. "RAVANA! I won't show you mercy! I won't hold back! I won't be afraid! The hunting of souls is wrong! YOU DON'T DESERVE A SECOND CHANCE!" Freya screamed.

"STOP!" Ravana begged, as he was too pained to even move.

"WITCH HUNTER!" Freya cried, bringing the scythe down on him…he split in two…

…

"Thank….goodness…" Freya said with a smile before collapsing onto the cold hard ground. James snatched her up in his arms desperately.

"Freya!"

(A/N: Ravana has been defeated, but things are never THAT easy…and it looks like Freya's energy is spent. Freya and James are married?…hehe next chapter coming soon…)


	16. FOOL! Annabelle's Great Adventure

"I can't believe it's already been a week since that whole run in with Ravana." Naomi said coolly, blowing a bubble with her gum.

"Yes...it is hard to believe." Freya said softly. "Jezebel still isn't coming to classes…she must be so miserable."

"So what?" Naomi grumbled. "she deserves a little misery for the ass loads she's given you."

Everyone just sighed and sat still, except for….

"Caden, please sit down. Ezekiel should be here soon!" Mariko said, trying to soothe the nerves of her pacing weapon. "It was just a little doctor appointment…"

Before Caden could answer, a jovial voice cut in.

"Hey guys!" Ezekiel called.

Everyone's eyes widened and their jaws dropped when they saw Ezekiel.

"B-bro! What happened to your face?" Caden cried, rushing up to his twin.

Ezekiel laughed. "Chill out bro, they're just glasses."

"Ezekiel…wow." Naomi said slowly, walking up to her boyfriend.

"Yeah, I know; big difference huh?" He said smiling. "I went for the vintage style; I don't want lenses as big as dad's."

"I figured you'd go for contacts." Naomi said, leaning a bit closer to her weapon's face.

"I tried some on, but they sorta changed the color of my charming eyes which I wasn't fond of. Plus by wearing these glasses I can pass it off as me going for the smart look…I think I look pretty good don't you babe?" Ezekiel said, trying to put an arm around Naomi who swatted it away.

"Oh cut it out. You're too big an idiot to even _pretend_ that you've got brains." Naomi grumbled.

Everyone else looked on laughing except for Caden, who looked horribly puzzled.

"Hey Freya? Do you still have that flashlight with you? You know, the one you carry around everywhere because of your phobia of the dark." Caden said as if the entire situation was completely normal.

Freya's face lit up in embarrassment. "W-well..ummm yes…but why?" she asked.

"I need it." Caden said simply, placing his hand out.

Freya reluctantly handed him the flashlight, causing Caden to smile. "Thanks sis!"

Having said that, Caden sat down, turned on the flashlight and pointed it directly into his eyes; he screamed.

"Caden! NO!" Mariko screamed, trying to pry the light from her weapon's hands.

"Damniiiiiit! I want glasses too!" Caden cried, still holding the light to his open eyes.

"Then just get a fashion pair! Please Caden, you're hurting yourself!" Mariko begged.

Caden immediately flung the light from his hands. "A fashion pair…hmmm you are so smart Mariko! I love you!" he said enthusiastically.

"Geez….you guys are a bunch of complete morons…" Naomi grumbled.

****

"So Franken…is Freya married to James now?" Marie inquired.

Stein made a low growl. "They're souls are just joined. As far as I'm concerned it has nothing to do with matrimony." Stein said darkly. Marie laughed.

"Mother. Father." Annabelle said firmly from behind the two parents.

"Yes, what is it sweetheart? Are you feeling alright?" Marie asked, hugging her daughter.

"I'm fine. I would like to go out for a while. Perhaps a day or so." Annabelle announced.

Marie pulled away instantly. "Absolutely not!" Marie cried.

"And why is that?" Annabelle questioned.

"I am NOT going to lose my daughter again! You aren't going anywhere!" Marie shouted, holding Annabelle's shoulders.

"Mother, you must allow me to do this." Annabelle said firmly.

"No! And where do you think you'd be going anyway?" Marie said now becoming somewhat angry.

"I can't tell you that." Annabelle answered.

Marie shook her head as tears came to her eyes and she pulled her daughter close again. "Don't you understand why I can't let you….?" Marie whispered.

"I suppose it would indeed be irresponsible of you to allow me to take my leave, given what has just happened but a week ago." Annabelle breathed.

"Anna…I love you…I'm your mom…" Marie said softly.

"I know…" Annabelle said softly. "Would you perhaps allow me to leave if I was accompanied by another?"

"Who would you bring with you?" Stein asked.

"Nathaniel." She answered bluntly.

The parents blinked a few times at their daughter. Stein was about to speak, when someone burst into the room.

"I'll look out for your daughter!" Nathaniel said, saluting Stein.

"So as you can see, Nathaniel plans to guard me. He saved me back in the battle with Ravana, so I trust him to look out for me now." Annabelle explained.

Finally Stein sighed. "Alright, you can go. Just tell me where you're headed first; that's my only condition."

"Very well." Annabelle began. "I plan to seek out…."

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

"Are you sure you're alright?" James asked Freya, looking into her dual colored eyes.

"Yes I promise I'm alright…" she said, smiling.

"You know…I was so terrified when you went missing…and then so relieved to find you alive…and then overjoyed when you said you loved me." James said, planting a kiss on her tiny forehead.

"Hehe, yeah…" she said blushing.

"Freya….I'm going to love you forever. I promise." James said, before drawing her into a gentle kiss…

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

"This is where it should be." Annabelle said, examining a cave at the top of a steep cliff.

"All the way up there huh?" Nathaniel said with awe in his tone.

"Yes, and you will carry me." Annabelle said firmly.

"Um…well ok." Nathaniel said, lifting the tiny Annabelle onto his back.

After much sweat and painful effort, they made it to the top of the cliff.

"Thank you Nathaniel; you've proven yourself a valuable partner. Now come along or I will leave you behind." Annabelle said, looking ever stoic.

Nathaniel slowly trudged behind her, still panting, but his eyes went wide when he saw that the cave was filled with water!

"Annabelle, because you are a lady I find it proper to carry you!" Nathaniel announced, scooping her up into his arms.

"I didn't give you permission to pick me up!" she growled.

Nathaniel simply laughed and began wading through the water…

"Woah…the air is vibrating in this place…" Nathaniel said once they reached the other side of the cave.

"That is beside the point…ah there it is…the Holy Sword; Excalibur." Annabelle observed, walking up to the beautiful blade slowly.

"I shall draw this blade from its stationary position." Annabelle formally announced. Nathaniel watched in awe as Annabelle plucked the sword easily from its place.

"Greetings young travelers!" a theatrical voice called. "I am the Holy Sword…Excalibur!"

And with that, in a burst of brilliant light, the sword transformed into a bizarre white creature.

"As I expected…pathetic." Annabelle said coldly.

"Tell me children, where do you come from?" Excalibur demanded.

"We both come from Death Ci—" Nathaniel began.

"I know that." Excalibur stated simply.

"Um….well…anyway, my name is Nathani—"

"FOOL!" Excalibur loudly proclaimed, causing the blonde boy to jump. "I did not give you permission to speak…do not interrupt me when I'm talking; it's very rude."

"But…you weren't—"

"FOOL!" Excalibur said again.

Finally Annabelle spoke up. "Holy Sword, I do not wish to waste my time, so I shall get to the point. I desire—"

"My legend dates back to the 12th century. Are you prepared to hear my tale?" Excalibur said, interrupting Annabelle.

"No, I do not wish to hear your petty ramblings, as it will make my ears bleed. I shall get to the point as I said before. Holy Sword, I am asking you to—" Annabelle began again.

"FOOL! Listening to my legend is part of the 1000 provisions you will have to complete." Excalibur said harshly.

"I refuse to participate in any of your provisions; FOOL. You're foolishness overwhelms me, however I am willing to endure your pitiful and obnoxious demeanor in favor of taking you as my weapon partner, as I deem your qualifications up to par with my expectations." Annabelle deadpanned.

Excalibur blinked a few times and appeared to be puzzled by Annabelle's boldness.

"FOOL! You have yet to participate in my favorite provision; the five hour story telling party."

"Invitation declined." Annabelle said dully. "How pitiful that you'd rather stay in this gloomy, drab, and disgusting dwelling, completely alone instead of taking up my offer. Reconsider, else I smite thee…and trust me it will hurt. I wonder if in your current form, I can dissect you."

…..

"FOOL!"

"Can you please stop calling Annabelle a fool? She's brilliant!" Nathaniel shouted.

"FOOL!" Excalibur cried, thrusting his cane in Nathaniel's face, causing the blonde boy to topple over. "What right do you have to tell me what I should and should not do?...and thus you are chosen!"

"What the…that was…so random!" Nathaniel said in shock.

"It shall all be yours! Victory and glory! Now let's go…TOGETHER!" Excalibur cried with theatrical drama.

With that, Annabelle wordlessly took hold of Excalibur. "Good. I am glad this is settled. Now I can return home."

Annabelle's face of satisfaction turned to one of despair however when she saw that Nathaniel looked extremely depressed.

….what was wrong with him?

(A/N: Ezekiel has to wear prescription glasses now. Hehe I think glasses are adorable! And Annabelle is now wielding the Holy Sword, Excalibur! It seems that Nathaniel isn't too happy about that. Things seem to be going well, but life is never easy…more coming soon!)


	17. Caden in Trouble! Annabelle in Love?

"I haven't seen Nathaniel in so long. He hasn't been around since Excalibur showed up." Freya said worriedly.

"Yeah but shouldn't he be back by now? I mean come on; Excalibur is out of the house now." Ezekiel said.

"I think he's still hurt…." Freya sighed.

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Naomi said.

"He is…he really liked Annabelle. He talked about her all the time at home." Mariko said sadly.

"Then why doesn't he just go see her?" Naomi asked bluntly.

"Because he's afraid." James answered simply.

Then the entire group of friends sighed. Way too much drama.

"Hm? Where's Caden?" Mariko asked, not seeing her boyfriend.

"Maybe he's jacking off in the bathroom." Naomi said rolling her eyes.

Mariko looked worried. Caden had been acting very strangely lately…sometimes it was like he wasn't the same person anymore. They had been having difficulty matching their soul wavelengths, and he hardly spoke a word to anyone.

"I'm going to look for him." Mariko said, rushing off without waiting for an answer from the group.

Mariko felt like she had been running for an eternity; she had checked everywhere! Where was he? Was he—

She gasped. "Caden!" she cried. He was up on one of the highest points of the school, just sitting there.

As fast as she could, Mariko rushed to the spot and somewhat fearfully went out onto the ledge….she didn't like heights.

"Caden! What on earth are you doing?" Mariko asked.

No answer…only the wind.

"Caden!" she repeated, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"It sits outside my window….." he said with an empty voice.

"What?" she asked. "What does?"

"The raven….every night he watches me from outside my window…and even when my eyes close I can feel his presence over my bed…he's always with me…" Caden said.

"Caden…?" she asked fearfully.

"He wants to kill me….I think…" he said, looking up into the sky. "No…he wants to be a part of me…." He chuckled.

"Caden? You have to tell me what's going on." Mariko insisted, but gasped when she felt Caden abruptly seize her wrist.

"And why? Why should I do that?" he asked with a smirk.

Mariko's eyes filled with horror. "C-Caden." She stammered.

He laughed at her fear and gripped her wrist tighter.

"You're hurting me!" she cried as she pinched her eyes shut.

His face turned to one of humored sadism, as he suddenly pulled her to dangle over the edge of where they were.

Mariko began screaming and clawing at his hand in a pleading way. She began to sob uncontrollably.

"HELP ME! CADEN STOP!" she screamed with tears rolling down her cheeks.

Caden didn't do a thing and simply watched the girl scream in fear.

"CADEN! WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS WHEN I LOVE YOU SO MUCH?" she screamed.

Caden's eyes widened. Love? What was he….Mariko!

As quickly as he could, he pulled Mariko back up with a terrified expression on his face.

"Mariko…are you alright?" he asked, touching her face.

"Why….who are you?" she asked. "You're not….you're not the boy I fell in love with!" she cried, before pushing past him in tears.

Caden stood there alone and finally tears began to stream down his face. "What's happening to me? What's this all about?" he said softly.

****

Annabelle sat alone in her room. She had been trying to do an experiment but stopped in the middle of it. The experiments she had been trying to do lately gave her no gratification. And that experiment with Excalibur just made her shudder; god he was so fucking annoying! However, she did feel oddly empowered around him and it was interesting to spend a week with him and see how he went about his day by her side and what effects he would have upon her due to him being the Holy Sword.

Nathaniel though; he hadn't come to see her since the day they went to get Excalibur. Was he not her friend anymore? She kept waiting for him to show up with that goofy smile but he never did.

Her mother. She would ask her mother. Annabelle didn't normally like seeking advice because she preferred to figure things out on her own but she knew that her mom knew quite a bit about relationships and how to get through the difficult times…and that's what she wanted help with.

Very reluctantly, she approached her mother who was in the kitchen washing dishes.

"Well-" she began.

"I was wondering when you'd come and ask me about it." Marie said softly, turning to her small daughter.

Annabelle blinked once or twice. Damn her mom for being so emotionally perceptive.

"Mother…" she said softly.

Marie smiled and took her daughter's hand. "Come on, let's sit down and talk." She said brightly.

Annabelle said a word about it, but there were many times she wished she could be like her mother. She wanted to have that bubbly, friend to all nature. Why couldn't she get emotional like her mother did and smile all the time?

"So, you want to talk about Nathaniel." Marie said beaming at her daughter.

Annabelle chose to get to the point. "What is preventing his approach? Is it his desire to no longer be my friend?"

Marie held her daughter gently. "Annabelle, relationships are a two way street. You can't expect Nathaniel to do all the work. That's not really a friendship now is it?" Marie asked, massaging her daughter's shoulders and looking into her eyes.

Then it hit Annabelle. Damn it! How was it that she was so blind and ignorant to all of this? Why could she do almost everything else except this relationship stuff?

"You should go to him, Annabelle. It's your turn to show that you care." Marie said.

"But what if he doesn't—"

Marie placed a finger on Annabelle's lips. "Shh…trust me." Marie said before kissing Annabelle's forehead. "He'll be overjoyed."

Being comforted by her mother's words, Annabelle closed her eyes and allowed a smile to creep onto her face before heading out the door.

****

Annabelle hadn't felt this much emotion in a while. Right now she was experiencing the wonderful emotion of anxiety. How fun…

Taking a deep breath, she stared at the door in front of her and ever so carefully knocked a few times.

After a few moments, Noah flung the door open.

"ANNABELLE! Oh my gosh! It has been sooooo long! Yay!" Noah cried, hugging Annabelle and mussing her hair.

Dear God….would this man ever grow up?

"Calm down, Noah." Kana said from behind him.

"Oh" he said laughing "I apologize."

"Apology accepted. May I speak to your son?" Annabelle asked.

"Of course. He's in his room right now." Kana said.

"Much appreciated." She said softly, before making her way to Nathaniel's room. Knocking twice, she waited for an answer.

"Come in." he said.

He gasped when he saw Annabelle standing in the doorway.

"Annabelle…." He said with wide eyes.

"I haven't seen you." Annabelle said walking into his room and closing the door. "And I would like to know wh—"

She was cut off when Nathaniel pulled her into his arms while crying.

"Nathaniel….I'm afraid I don't understand what's going on." Annabelle said in shock.

He pulled her away to look at him with his gorgeous eyes. "I love you!" he shouted.

Annabelle's eyes turned into the size of saucers.

"B-because I love you…I was so…so sad when you decided to keep Excalibur….and forget about me." He choked out.

Annabelle was suddenly overcome by an unfamiliar but wonderful warm feeling flooding her body and healing her heart and soul. And with that coursing through her veins, she wrapped her arms around Nathaniel in return.

"Foolish boy…why would I forget you? I...l-lo….love you…as well." She said.

Nathaniel pulled her away and laughed before kissing both of her cheeks. "Annabelle! I'm so happy! Yay! I'm gonna tell everyone!" he shouted.

"Oh for goodness sake…" she sighed.

"I'm so proud to have you as my girlfriend!" he shouted.

"G-girlfriend?" Annabelle stammered.

"Yeah!" he said, kissing her cheeks again.

Annabelle's stoic demeanor had dissipated as her entire face lit up bright red.

"N-Nathaniel…we're so young…" she said.

"It doesn't matter! Hooray for young love!" he cried.

"DID SOMEONE SAY YOUNG LOVE?" a voice said from outside the door before Noah burst in with a childishly enthusiastic expression.

"Daddy! Annabelle is my girlfriend!" Nathaniel cried.

"OH GOODY!" Noah said back, before hugging his son and swinging him around.

Annabelle's eye twitched. "Perhaps…I made a mistake…" she said.

Then Annabelle felt a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry. They seem like nothing but a handful, but I promise you that they are the two most loving and loyal people I know. You will always have him by your side…" Kana said.

And with that Annabelle did allow herself to smile a bit. "It still seems to be a bit of a mistake to me; however, I will take your word for it."

_Nathaniel…the foolish boy…I can't believe of all people in this world…it was you that I fell for. _

(A/N: yay! Ugh sorry for the epically long wait for my update. I'm working on 4 stories at once lol but two of them are almost done so I'll be able to spend more time on this one very soon! Also, if you're a Hetalia fan, then get excited because my next fic is going to be on that! :D I'll try and update much more quickly next time, and this fic should be done in about the next 5-7 chapters. Hooray for Annabelle getting emotional! She's developing! But what's going to happen to Caden? Hehe next chapter will reveal the secret behind his strange behavior!)


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